Ori and the New World
by Banshee44
Summary: I'm sorry to say that this fanfiction has been cancelled. It will be rebooted later, but for the time being it remains still and untouched. I hope you can all forgive me.
1. Solitude

CHAPTER 1

SOLITUDE… KINDA

Zander

Here I sit, on the edge of the roof atop the second tallest building in the city. The air is slightly thinner and the wind blows hard. It's been three years since I got back from Nibel, and every single day since then I have regretted leaving. But to my surprise, a couple things stayed the same. The five spirits are still within my body, and they still talk… a lot. I still retain my light and abilities gained from Nibel, but I obviously can't tell anyone. I still have my grapple hook, and I turned the materials I got from Nibel into a necklace, which I wear every day. It was easy grinding the wood and brimstone into smooth shapes which interlocked together, but the steel was the hardest to shape. Nobody I have found can even scratch it and I've spent at least $300 to fund fixing their broken tools. I eventually realized that since I have the light within me, I can mold it with enough effort. I can't mold it like a guardian can, but it definitely does work. After a couple weeks of touching up and smoothing I made a circular disk using the three materials, in a sort of ying yang type style, and used some of the extra metal to make a shoddy chain. After messing with it some more I had a beautiful necklace made of three foreign materials, and I wear it every day to remind me of the adventures I once had years ago.

Shortly after discovering I still had my abilities (found out by accident during a gymnastics class, accidentally bashed the bounce pad, destroying the spring) I began skipping classes to climb buildings and such. My ability to climb so well fills me with excitement, knowing that I can go anywhere, as long as there is a wall leading up to it. But there are also some differences since I was last on Earth, for example, I have lost the ability to sleep. Since I have so much light within me, my energy stays the same, but I still get fatigued. So at night, when I'm tired, I can't fall asleep so all I can do is lie there and talk to the spirits about whatever crosses my mind. It took them a long time to get used to my style of life, every day they asked me questions. _What are those fast metal boxes? Why do you have to sit in these rooms listening to people for hours? What is this green paper, and why is it valuable?_ I hear questions of this caliber every day, but I don't mind it. What I DO mind is having to talk to myself for them to hear me, so I sound crazy to everyone I'm around, so as a solution to this I bought a Bluetooth device, so whenever I talk to them, it seems like I'm in a phone call with someone, even though I don't own one (fell out of my pocket while climbing, fell 13 stories to the ground. Didn't bother getting it back.)

Climbing buildings is fun and all, but I tend to get caught a lot, so that usually leads to a chase (which I have yet to get arrested, since I usually run, and yes I know that's illegal.) "Zander, someone is coming up the stairs to the roof." One of the spirits say. Speak of the devil. I slide off the roof and grab onto the wall as soon as I get out of sight. I hear a door open, followed by rushed footsteps. "HEY, I KNOW YOU'RE UP HERE, I SAW YOU!" Welp, my cover is blown, and the quickest way off of the building is on the other side of it, where there is a long jump to another rooftop, slightly shorter than this one. I take a deep breath and yank myself upward, and onto the roof. And sprint past the man, dressed in a fine tan suit. I get to the edge of the roof, and see the other roof, about 20 feet away. A pretty sketchy jump, but I've practiced bashing. I get to the railing of the roof and angle a well-placed bash, launching myself to the other roof, breaking the railing in the process. I land on the other roof and roll to reduce the shock of landing. I quickly push myself onto my feet and see the tan suit man run to the edge of the roof, in shock. "I'LL PAY FOR THE DAMAGES, I PROMISE!" I shout, and I run to the other side of the roof, leaping over and sliding down the wall. This building is right next to another building, so there is a conveniently placed alley that I can descend between to avoid being seen. "You realize you can't keep this act up forever, you are eventually going to get caught." One of the spirits say. "Gee, I absolutely love your enthusiasm today!" I say sarcastically. I reach the ground and brush myself off, do avoid conspicuousness. I walk past business men and women, wearing all different shades of colors, ranging from dull grey and black, to neon orange and green. Suddenly I hear a door slamming open from behind me. "DID YOU SEE HIM?! THERE WAS A KID! FIND HIM!"

I quicken my pace and turn into an alleyway that cuts through to another street, I just have to climb a brick wall to get there. I hear footsteps behind me, and I turn around to see that the guy from the roof has found me, wonderful. I run to the brick wall and jump onto it, climbing it as fast as I can. "Wha- hey! STOP!" He shouts, but I keep going until I get over the wall and slide down to the ground, and walk into a nearby Starbucks to get out of the street. I walk inside and sit down, and recollect myself. The smell of roasted coffee and chocolate pastries fill my nostrils, making me hungry. "What… is that? It smells wonderful!" A spirit remarks. I pretend to click the answer button on my Bluetooth device and start talking. "That is the smell of coffee, it's a type of hot, sweet drink that was made to keep people awake." I say. Talking about coffee makes me want to get some, so might as well spend a fortune on some. I walk to the counter and order a regular coffee with cream and sugar, and a chocolate cake pop, and I sit back down, waiting for my coffee to be done. I look out the window and see the same guy in the tan suit, still looking for me. I quickly look away, to avoid being seen. That same guy is still looking for me! I hear people at a table next to me discussing game design, and I decide to sit down at the table and join them, to blend in. They didn't seem to mind me joining their conversation, if anything they were more than happy to hear what I had to say. We talked for a couple minutes, until my coffee was done. So I said goodbye, grabbed my drink and snack, and left, looking around to make sure that the guy wasn't still there. I quickly made my way to Mark's, a good friend of mine. I got to his apartment complex and went up the elevator to his room, and knocked on the door.

After a couple seconds the door opens and Mark appears, and smiles. "Well, well, the dimensional traveler returns!" Mark says enthusiastically. "Hey Mark." I say. I have known Mark since we were toddlers, and he seemed like to only person I could trust with that story. I told it to him and at first he thought I was joking but he knew that the wounds I got during my "coma" wouldn't just spontaneously appear. After some explaining and a demonstration of my abilities he was convinced that it all really happened, and has been trying to find other instances of rifts opening from the portal. "Hey Mark, how's it going?" I ask. "Well, in terms of school, not well. I absolutely hate psychology, but in terms of rifts, I've picked up 12 momentary blips." He said. We walked inside and the first visible thing in his house is a large device in his living room, with wires and such going everywhere, and a single, large monitor connected to all of it. When we first made it, it was the size of a laptop, and it picked up gamma radiation (which is one of the type of radiations and light waves the rifts made on appearance), but over time more and more money was put into it, and now it all processes on 3 high performance PC towers, and picks up Gamma radiation to Infrared light waves, making it a true force to be reckoned with. "Hey, so remember that sample of Kharatic Steel that I had examined?" Mark asked. A while ago I took some of the Kharatic steel I had left over from the necklace and gave it to Mark to have examined. "Well the results came back from the atomic structure of it, and you'd be surprised to hear that it has absolutely no atomic structure." What? How is that possible, everything has to have an atomic structure! But this is another world we're talking about so I guess it can have its own properties. "What do you mean 'no structure'? Are you saying it's the repetition of the same single atom over and over?" I ask. "Nope, that's the thing, there ARE no atoms. It's completely solid, no atoms and no bonds. It seems that Nibel has a completely unique material type, or their atoms are way smaller. We couldn't deconstruct or damage it, so you're going to need to be there next time we try to tamper with it." Mark said.

Suddenly the machine began beeping loudly, an instance that only happens when a rift is open and stable for more than 30 seconds. Mark instantly jumped to the monitor and stared at the screen. "We got one! It looks completely stable!" He shouted. My heart jumped. Is the portal really going to stay open this time? I run to a strongbox in the other room and insert a key, popping it open and removing my grapple hook, and affixing it to my right arm. "Let's go!" I shouted and ran out the front door, seeing a brilliant pillar of light. Mark grabbed a phone sized radar and ran after me. We might actually find Ori again.


	2. Life Afterwards

CHAPTER 2

LIFE AFTERWARDS

Ori

After Zander left, life has been fairly normal. I visit Naru every day, say hello to Gumo, see how Zari is doing (Kuro's daughter's name is Zari now), I walk around Nibel a lot, but not having to worry about things is really… strange, I keep having panic attacks, worrying that something bad will happen again. So far, nothing bad has happened yet. Even the monsters are gone, and every now and then I climb the spirit tree and talk to Sein. So far she has held up fine. I had to tell her that Abjor came back, but he sacrificed himself to save Zander. She didn't take it very well, but she said that sounded like something he would do. Helping people even if it meant hurting himself just to do so. After a while of exploring I accidentally found the Spirit Portal, underneath the Spirit Tree. I've been trying to get it working and connected to "Earth" for a while and I've learned how to open rifts to Earth, but they close almost instantly after opening. After a year or so of revisiting the portal and trying, a female guardian watched me walk into the cave leading to the Spirit Portal. She followed me in without me even hearing her and watched me mess with the Portal for a while. After a while, I noticed her in a nook near the ceiling of the cave, and I asked how she found this place. She said she followed me, and wants to know what I'm doing. I knew I shouldn't tell her, but I had to, and I explained to her that I was trying to use the Spirit Portal to get to Earth, where a friend of mine named _Zander_ lived. Her eyes lit up when I said his name. APPEARENTLY, the whole story between me and Zander saving Nibel is a story told frequently around the Spirit Tree, as a type of legend or myth. I assured her it was true, and she immediately asked if she could help me. I didn't want to say yes, but I had no choice.

We worked on that Portal every day since, and we have gotten it working multiple times, but not for very long periods of time, since we tried not to let anyone else find out. After a while of working, I became sort of attached to her. I asked for her name one day, but she seemed reluctant to tell me. After an hour or so she just said it. "Lovec". The tree gave her that name because it was her job to protect the tree. There are Spirit Guardians, but we mainly just live here, but she was meant to protect the tree, and born with heightened senses, and the ability to protect herself. I've seen her agility, the way she moves, it's almost as if she is made of water. Well, here we are today, a year or so later, and we got the portal working. We have gotten it on before but it never stayed open for long. For the first time ever, the portal has stayed open for more than 30 seconds. "It finally works! I honestly hope it was worth it." Lovec said. "Trust me, it will be… I hope." I said. She walked to the far end of the cave and grabbed her gear, a short blade made of Kharatic steel (still have no idea how she got it) and some shorter knives, for throwing. "Why are you bringing those? It should be safe." I say. "Well, you're the first thing I ever cared about, other than the tree, so I wouldn't want to lose you." She said, smiling at me. She put the small knives into a pouch on her thigh and put the short blade in a sheath on her back. She walked a couple steps toward the portal and stopped. "Hey, I have an idea!" She exclaimed. She reached down and grabbed a small rock, and scratched an "X" on it. "If it is safe for you to come, I will throw this through the portal, so I can let you know to come." It sounds like a good plan, so I nodded my head. She stood by the rift for a moment, took a deep breath, and jumped into it, disappearing within the large humming orb of light.


	3. A Pleasant Surprise

CHAPTER 3

A PLEASANT SURPRISE

Zander

I climbed the stairway as fast as I could, not even waiting for Mark. I couldn't wait. I got to the roof and saw the glowing orb, humming with a familiar light. There it is. "ZANDER! SLOW DOWN!" Mark shouted. "I WANT TO SEE IT TO!" "You will, don't worry. It's right here." I replied. He got to the top of the roof and collapsed in a tired, gasping heap. "Guh… don't… ever rush me… again!" He shouted, gasping for air. After a minute or two of catching his breath, he pushed himself up, and staggered. "You ok?" I ask. "Just… let's get to the rift." He said. He began walking toward the orb and I stopped him. "Let's just take this slowly, alright?" I said. He nodded his head, still breathing heavily. I inched toward the glowing orb, and slowly reached for it. "Hey, these things are nice right?" Mark asked. "I mean, I've only met a few of them, but they all seemed really nice." I said, continuing to reach for the orb. Before I touched it, the orb pulsed brightly, startling me. Suddenly a spirit guardian fell from the orb, landing on their knees, facing away from us. It didn't look like Ori. "Um, hello?" I said. The spirit flinched, and turned towards us, pulling a blade from a sheath on their back, and leaping at Mark, tackling them. Panicking, he kicked them off him, and crawled away. "NOT NICE ZANDER, NOT NICE!" He shouted. As soon as he shouted my name, the spirit lowered their blade, and looking at me. "Wait… Zander?" They asked. "Yeah" I said. "That's me." She looked toward the sky in embarrassment, sheathing her weapon. "Oh my god, I almost killed his friends!" She shouted. "Wait, whose friends?" I asked. "Oh right!" She said, and pulled a rock from a small pouch, throwing it into the portal.

After a couple seconds, a familiar looking spirit guardian fell from the portal and landed on their chest. "Agh, how do you stand going through those, Zander?" Ori muttered to himself. "Ori?" I said. His eyes opened wide, and he looked at me in astonishment. "Zander?" He asked. He looked at my grapple hook, affixed to my arm. "Oh my god, it is you!" He shouted. He got up and ran to me, tackling me with a huge hug. "I missed you it's been years since I last saw you!" He shouted. "I-I don't understand, how did you get here?" I asked. "I found the portal after it disappeared, and she helped me, we worked on it for years." He said. I looked at the spirit guardian who attacked us, and she waved at us, still embarrassed. "We found out how to get the steel into powder, and fuse it with light, which seems to turn it on, but for short periods of time. After a while we figured out how to keep it open, so now it will stay open as long as the portal doesn't break… So, where are we?" Ori asks. I push myself off the ground and brush the rubble off myself. "Well, look around." I say. Ori walked to the edge of the roof and looked around at the city, speechless. "Woah… what is this?" He asks. "Well, this is where Mark and I live. It's the capital of Florida." I say. "What's a _Florida?_ " Ori asks. "It's hard to explain." One of the spirits say. Ori cocks his head to the side. "Wait, the spirits are still here?" He asks. "You can hear them?" I ask. "Well, yeah, can't you hear them to?" Ori asks, pointing at Mark.

"Hey man, don't ask me, I wasn't even sure you existed until now." Mark said. "Frankly I'm still freaked out from your friend's attack." Mark pointed at the female spirit. "Wait, you attacked them?" Ori asked. "Well, I didn't know what to expect. I'm pretty much the first spirit ever to come here." She said. "Sorry, Lovec isn't the best with first impressions." Ori said, apologizing to Mark. Lovec… what an interesting name. "It's all good man." Mark said. "We should probably go inside somewhere, it looks like it's about to rain." I looked up to see the once clear sky now covered in dark clouds. Strange. "Well, we can't let people see them, so what should we do?" I ask. "We could stay up high, there are a lot of… these things around we can walk on. We'll just follow you from above." Lovec said. We all agreed to that idea, and Mark and I climbed down from the roof, making sure nobody saw us, and we walked home, looking up to make sure they were still following us. We made it to Mark's apartment complex in a couple minutes, and without anyone noticing us or the spirits bounding from rooftop to rooftop. Ori and Lovec slid down to the floor we were on and met us outside Mark's apartment. "So where are we?" Ori asked. "We're at my place… uh, it is a bit messy inside, because I wasn't… expecting company, so please make yourselves at home." Mark said, pulling out his keys. He opened the door and the two spirits walked inside, looking around. "Huh, you humans have such weird homes." Lovec said.

"Hey Mark, lemme barrow your phone, I'm gonna let mom know I'm staying the night." I said. Mark grabbed his iPhone off the living room ottoman and passed it to me, and I sent my mom a quick text. I received a reply a minute or so later, telling me to be safe, and other motherly commands. "Alright, I guess I'm staying the night." I said, placing his phone on the kitchen counter. I was so used to being at Mark's house that it was practically a second home to me. "So… where are they going to sleep?" Mark asked. "Well, I guess with me. I don't sleep anyways so I guess I could try to explain the Earth, and how it works to them." I said. I didn't think I would have to ever say that in my life. "Alright man, whatever floats your boat." Mark said, heading to the kitchen. "Hey guys, let me show you where we're going to be staying." I said, gesturing Ori and Lovec to follow me. I walked into Mark's guest bedroom, and the two spirits followed, looking at everything there was to see in the house. "This is the bed, where we sleep." I said. Ori walked up to it and jumped on top, sinking into the thick comforter. "Oh man… this is sooo nice." He said, sounding really relaxed. Lovec followed suit and lied down next to Ori, instantly relaxing. "You sleep in these things? Lucky." Lovec said. I walked over to them to see Ori had already passed out. Lovec looked at Ori and laughed. "Well, I guess I should sleep to, it's been a long day anyway." She said, and closed her eyes, letting her head fall onto the covers, instantly falling asleep.

I walked out of the room, turning off the light, and closing the door before I left, and walked to the kitchen, seeing Mark making some Ramen Noodles. "Crazy isn't it?" I ask. "Dude, I honestly thought you were pulling some elaborate prank on me until now… This is so weird… knowing an entirely different world exists, outside of our own world… nobody can know about this, you know that right?" He says. "Oh, absolutely no one can know." I reply, nodding my head. I stayed up all night (as usual) watching the news with Mark, making sure nobody knew about the rift and the spirits yet. After searching for an hour or so, Mark went off to bed, leaving me on the couch alone, with my thoughts. Another hour later, a door opened in the hallway. I got up to see what it was, and saw Ori standing in the hallway, rubbing the sleep out of his right eye. "Hey sleepyhead. Have a nice rest?" I ask. He let out a long yawn and let his arm drop from his face. "Wow… that is honestly the best sleep I've ever had in my entire life." He said, still sounding rather tired. "Well, since you're up I think you should start learning about our world." I said to him. "To me it isn't as interesting as Nibel, but we have learned a lot of things about our universe… what would you like to see first?" I ask, walking Ori to the living room. "Hmm… universe… I want to know about that!" He said, excitedly. The universe. Truly the most beautiful and terrifying thing we have discovered. An area outside of our own planet, completely devoid of anything. But looking past the scariness of nothing, there is such beauty to it. "Alright, well sit down here and let me show you the universe." I say, connecting one of the computers to a projector, turning it on, and aiming it at the wall. "How about we start small." I said, pulling up a picture of the solar system on Google. Ori sat on the couch for hours, in awe of the beauty of the planets, and the fact that the small ball in the sky was in fact, trillions of times larger than us.

"Ok, I need to stop for a second, my head can't handle all of this at once." Ori said, laying down on the couch. I walked around and slumped down next to him. "This is so cool… the people here discovered all of this?" Ori asked, pointing at the projection. "Yeah, and we discovered even more to. If you knew what was outside of this world, you would probably freak out… the universe is so large that our simple minds can't even comprehend the size." I said. Ori sat silent for a moment. "That almost sounds scary." He said quietly. "It is… even though it will never negatively affect is in our lifetime, it makes me really anxious. It's really big." I reply. I sit for a moment, and become curious. "Hey, Ori… you know how most guardians are born with abilities, right? Well, does Lovec have any abilities?" I ask. "Yeah, she does. And it's really cool! She has the ability to _blink_. It's kinda weird to explain, but one moment she's standing in one place, and then a there's a bright flash, and she is standing far ahead of where she used to be. But she doesn't really use it that much, and I don't know why, it's really cool." He says. _Blink_ , sounds like a teleporting ability… why wouldn't you want to use that? I begin to feel really tired, but once again, I don't have the ability to sleep any more. I get off the couch and walk into the kitchen and begin setting up the coffee maker. "Whatcha doing?" Ori asks. I drop a scoop of grounds into a paper strainer, and put it in the top. "Making coffee." I say. "Coffee?" He asks. "It's a drink made to keep you awake, which can be made cold or hot." One of the spirits remark. "Pretty much." I say, agreeing with them. "Could I have some?" He asked. I never really thought about Ori drinking coffee, but I don't see what could go wrong… I'm not sure if he'll like the taste. "Ok, do you want something to eat to?" I ask. "Yeah, I'm starving." He replies. I let the coffee pour into a small Thermos and I open the fridge and inspect the food items. Mostly junk, and no fruit. "I may need to go to the store." I say to Ori. "Store?" He asks. "It's where we go to get food and stuff like that." I reply. It is going to take a long time for him to understand this world.

I throw on a t-shirt and some camo shorts, and grab a small cup with a lid, pouring some coffee into it, with cream and sugar, handing it to Ori. "It's hot, careful." I say. He brings it to his face and blows into the hole, making steam rise from it. He brings it closer and sips it, immediately bringing it away from his face, swallowing fast. "Don't like it?" I ask. "No, I like it… it's just hot." He said, taking another tiny sip from the cup. "Alright, drink it easy, I'm not sure how you're going to react to the coffee." I said. About thirty minutes after we walked outside, he was hyper. It wasn't a bad thing, it was pretty funny, watching him act outside his usual, calm self. We got to a Publix, and we sat on the roof. (I sat, he ran around the roof.) "What now?" He asked. "Well, I'm going to have to go in, because I'm not sure how people will react around you." I say. "Aww, I wanna see inside!" He said. Now, this doesn't sound like a good idea, but I feel like I brought him all this way for nothing. "Alright, but you have to calm down." I say. He sat down and started breathing deeply. "Alright… I'm ready." He said. Here we go. We climbed down between buildings and walked into the store. People gave us strange looks, which I smiled in return. We headed towards the back and walked next to a person who was browsing the produce isle. They looked over at me, then down at Ori, and his eyes lit up. "Oh my god! What is that? It's ADORABLE!" They exclaimed, kneeling down next to Ori. "Uh… I don't know." I stammer. "Can I hold it? Is it a boy or girl?" He asks. "Uh, boy… and I guess you can." I say. He smiles and carefully scoops him up, holding him like a baby. Ori squirms for a second and wiggles out of his arms, landing on the ground and visually scowling at me. "Wow, his skin is smooth… I wonder what he is." He said. "Oh, forgive me, my name is Stephen, nice to meet you!" He says, extending his hand out for me to shake. I reach out and shake his hand. "Hey, I'm Zander." I reply. "Alright, well I gotta go, so I'll be seein' you around!" Stephen said, and walked away. I turned back to the produce and looked around. I didn't know what to get, so I just grabbed a bag and got two of everything. I stuffed the fruit into the plastic bag and walked to the checkout stand, dropping the bag on the counter. "Hi" Ori said to the checkout clerk. They smiled nervously and quickly rang up the groceries, and I gave them a 20 dollar bill. "Keep the change." I said. "Mommy, it's snowing." A little girl shouts. What? I look out the window and see snow falling from the sky, gathering on the ground. Now this wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't in the middle of summer.


	4. An Unpleasant Surprise

CHAPTER 4

AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE

Ori

Zander paced for an hour trying to figure out what to do, while I sat eating oranges. We both knew that Lovec and I entering this world had something to do with the drastic weather change. "Ok… the only reason the world would be acting defensively against you is if there was a higher power controlling it… like the Spirit Tree… but what?" He said to himself. "What if Lovec and I went back to Nibel until you figure it out? We aren't doing this world much good if we're here, and we have plenty of Kharatic powder back home to reopen the portal." I suggested. "Yeah, I'm going to get the radar." He said. "I'll wake her up." I said. I ran down the hallway to the bedroom, and pushed the door open, flicking the white lever to turn the light on. "Agh, hey! I'm trying to sleep!" She hissed at me. "We have to go, the world is beginning to act defensively!" I shouted. "What? How? This world didn't have a higher power last time we checked!" She said. "Well it obviously does!" I reply. She rolled off of the bed and grabbed her blade, affixing it on her back and running out of the room. I flipped the switch off and followed her into the living room. "Alright, let's get to the rift." Zander said. He pushed the front door open, shielded his eyes from the snowy blades, and rushed out the door. Lovec ran out the door after him, and I followed, closing the door behind me, and following Zander's steps to the rift.

After a few minutes, we finally reached the building which held the rift on top. Lovec scooped some of the glowing dust out of her bag and tossed it at nothing, and a bright blue, pulsing orb took its place. Lovec looked at me, as if gesturing with her eyes for me to go first. I stepped towards the spherical portal, and raised my hand towards it, and it pulsed violently. That doesn't look good. Suddenly, a giant force hits my body, throwing me across the rooftop. "ORI!" Zander shouted, running towards me. "Are you ok? Please don't be hurt." He said, kneeling down next to me. "I'm fine, just got the wind knocked out of me." I say, sitting myself up. "What happened just then?" Zander asked. "The portal rejected him." Lovec said. "The only reason it would do that is if a higher power controlling this side of the portal denied his entry to it… so we're basically stuck here until we can… well, convince the higher power to let us go." That's just wonderful, we are causing the weather change while we're here, and we can't leave… this is only going to get worse. Zander and Lovec's movement begin slowing, the snowfall begins to slow down, and then everything stops. I wave my hand in front of Zander's face, no reaction. It seems as if time has stopped. Suddenly, a glowing figure appears in front of me. "Hello Ori." The figure speaks. "Y-you know me?" I ask. "Of course, I am the rift keeper of this plane." It says. That's a surprise. "Why are you keeping me and Lovec from leaving?" I ask.

"Well, for a very simple reason. This world is becoming more and more corrupt every day, this civilization is a cancer against this world. But you… your existence here causes the world to go into chaos… the longer you stay here, the more dangerous the world gets… why not take advantage of that? I'm going to keep you two here until every last creature on this Earth lies dead!" He shouts. His reasoning behind keeping me here is genocide? As I suspected, it just got worse. "I have no further quarrels with you, have a good day!" He evaporates and the world starts going at normal speed again. I regain my senses and panic. "Zander! The higher power of this world, he is keeping Lovec and me here to kill all of the creatures on Earth!" I shout. Zander looks at me with a strange face. "Wait, what? What's going on?" He asks. "The higher power, he is upset with how the people here are with this world, he calls them a cancer to this world. He is going to kill everyone, and it's all my fault." I say. "HEY! None of this is your fault! Don't say that! We can fix this, we just have to find where the higher power's resting place is… which could be anywhere on Earth." Zander says. "Zander, people are coming!" One of the spirits say. "Wait, is that a bad thing?" I ask. Suddenly the door on the roof bursts open, and multiple people, dressed in black and blue pour onto the roof. "Put your hands up, right… what the hell are these things?" One shouts. "Hey, back off!" Zander shouts, preparing for a fight. One of the people retaliates by pulling out a black object, and pointing it at him.

Lovec rushes in front of me, and pulls the short blade out of the sheath on her back. "Step away, or we will fight!" She shouts. Zander runs besides her, raising his grapple hook. One of the people fire a wire at Lovec, and with insane reflexes, she ducks and slices the wires in one movement, keeping her ground and staying calm. Another person fires their weapon at Zander, which lodges in their grapple hook chassis. Lovec slashes the wires on the needles and pulls them out of his grapple hook. Zander screams with rage and rushes towards one of the people, which reach for another object on their belt, similar to the last. Zander reaches them before he can pull it out and bashes them off the roof. "ORI, GET BACK TO THE APARTMENT!" Zander shouts. "Ori go! I'll help him!" Lovec shouts, as she cuts through the legs of one of the people. I don't know what to do, I don't want to leave them with these dangerous people, but I don't know what they can do, they could kill us easily… suddenly memories flood over me, memories of Zander's adventures with me, memories of his triumphs and pain, memories of his death… I can't let that happen again. My heart begins racing and my vision goes blurry before everything fades out.


	5. Self-Destructive Personality

CHAPTER 5

A SELF-DESTRUCTIVE PERSONALITY

Ori

I slowly awaken, with the feeling that I am travelling at a fast speed. I look upward and see trees and such speeding by, through a type of slick invisible wall. I look left and see Zander looking through the invisible wall. "Where are we?" I ask. Zander looks over at me and places his hand on my back. "We're on a train, leaving Florida." He said. "Ori, you're awake!" Lovec shouts, and hugs me from behind. "Yeah, don't worry, I'm fine… but what happened?" I ask. Zander's facial expression changes. "Well, I'm not gonna sugar coat it… after we told you to get back to the apartment, you went into this rage and started attacking… you hurt a lot of people." He said. This doesn't sound good. "What? But I… I didn't do that! I swear!" I shout. "Well what did you do, Ori?" Zander asks. "I… I don't know…" I say, trailing off. "You were overcome with rage… a personality trait only the dark half of anyone contains, along with angst, mania, misery, and other dark emotions." A spirit explains. "A spirit guardian's persona is fragile, and can easily flip from their light personality to dark. You flipped to your darker personality and attacked the people. You need to be more careful Ori, if you continue feeling these dark emotions and flipping personas, your body will be taken over by darkness… you'll become a wraith, as Sein once told you." "Your hands… Ori." Zander said. I looked down, and got a shock. My hands looked as if they were dipped in black tar down to my wrists. I attempt to rub it away, but to no avail. "There are no Spirit Wells here Ori, no way to heal yourself from the darkness. You are endangering yourself by feeling these dark emotions." The spirit said. "How can I fix this?" I ask. "Right now, as far as we know, you can't." The spirit said.

"Is… is this going to kill me?" I ask. "I'm afraid I don't know, but the effects will not be good if it progresses." The spirit says. "Hey, listen to me! That won't happen! You'll be just fine, we'll keep you safe!" Zander says to me. I smile at his enthusiasm. "Wait, where are we going, and why?" I ask. "Oh, well we're going to California because we are wanted in Tallahassee for..." Zander says pulling out a piece of paper. "Resisting arrest, assault, attempted murder, trespassing, and… an unpaid speeding ticket. So all in all, we can't go back." He says. "How long was I out for?" I ask. Zander and Lovec exchange looks. "About a week?" Zander said. "A WEEK?! What happened between then and now?" I ask. "Well, we were chased by police, went back to the apartment, got food, woke up Mark, who is now with us on the train, literally leapt out of the window to run from the police again, ran rooftop with you on my shoulders to a train station, and just barely got on a high speed train across the country." Zander said. "And people are after us?" I ask. "Yes." Zander said. "Sorry for the terrible first impression, but this is Earth for you." He said.

"Is Earth always like this?" I ask. Zander's expression changes and he looks back out the window. "Pretty much… it's such a self-destructive world, I'm not actually surprised that the higher power of this world wants everyone dead." He said. The door opens behind us and Mark appears in the doorway. "Hey Zander, they have a candy cart going around, do you want anything?" He asks. Zander looks over to Mark and thinks for a moment. "I don't know, just get a couple pieces of whatever." He says, then looks at me. "Do you want anything?" He asks. "I don't know what candy is." I say. Zander is quiet for a second. "Can you get some fruit flavored candy to?" Zander asks. "Yeah sure." Mark says, and disappears from view. "What is candy?" I ask. Zander thinks for a second and answers. "It's like a food that is only made to taste good." He said. It sounds pretty good. We sit silently for a while and I look back down at my hands. The blackness, it used to be something I feared, and now I'm turning into it. My vision darkens suddenly, and time slows down. " _ **Quite the predicament you have there, isn't it?**_ " A voice booms. I look around to find the source. " _ **Don't worry, you aren't crazy… I want you to come see us. Go to the tallest mountain, you will find us underneath. Please don't keep us waiting.**_ " The voice fades away and leaves me back in silence.

Zander looks over at me. "You ok?" He asks. I look around again, making sure it wasn't a rouse. "Um... Maybe? Some voice told me to come see them, under the _tallest mountain_." I said. "Um… are you sure? A voice told you that just now?" He asked. I looked at him as seriously as I could. "Alright, I guess Mount Everest is a good place to start." He said. Mark appeared in the doorway again with a small white bag made of some slick material. "I got the candy… what's wrong?" Mark asked, handing Zander the bag. "Welp, we're going to Everest." He said. Mark's jaw dropped. "Everest… Mount Everest? You can't be serious man." He said. "Well, Ori says it's important, and frankly I trust him more than anyone else I know, no offense." He said. "None taken… alright, we're going to Everest… guess I can cross that off my bucket list." Mark said walking off. Zander digs into the bag, and pulls out a small shiny red bag, and rips it open, taking out a tiny amber colored rock, and handing it to me. "Put it on your tongue." He said, placing one in his mouth. I stuck out my tongue and dropped the rock into it, pulling my tongue back in and closing my mouth. "Don't eat it, just suck on it." He said, smiling. Suddenly a salty sweet taste floods my mouth. It's wonderful… and tasty. "What is this?" I exclaim. "Butterscotch." Zander said. "Hey I want one!" Lovec said, reaching her hand out. Zander handed her one and she followed the same steps, sharing a similar reaction to mine. We sat in the rickety train car for the rest of the night sharing candy and stories to pass the time. I hope Everest isn't as bad as Zander and Mark make it sound.


	6. Everest

CHAPTER 6

EVEREST

Ori

I've been sitting anxiously for hours in this deathtrap machine called a "plane". Every now and then Zander will turn around and ask if I'm ok, and I always answer "no". It's not too bad, except for the fact that it is so high up. A piece of candy here and there helps a bit. I look back out the window and I'm greeted by the sight of tall, frozen mountains. The size is intimidating, but extremely beautiful. I hear a jingle in front of me, and a moan of distress. "Zander, your mom's calling." Mark said. "Oh my god, I completely forgot about that." He said. "Just, let me talk to her." Zander said, holding his hand out. After a couple minutes of arguing, apologizing, and begging he handed the phone back to Mark and sighed. "You didn't tell her you were going to Everest, didn't you?" Mark asked. "No, and she is obviously upset… I think she'll get over it." He said, and looked back out the window. After a couple minutes the plane descended and landed on the ground. As soon as we were allowed to leave, I rushed out of the plane as fast as I could, and jumped off the platform onto the freezing pavement. Standing on solid ground felt amazing. "Calm down man, we weren't gonna die." Zander said jokingly, mist forming in front of his mouth. "You don't know that, that thing could have just dropped out of the sky, what then?" I asked. "Then we jump out, easy as that." He replies. I stood up and looked around. To my left were old buildings and ahead of me was the end of the runway, marked "24" in white numbers, and more buildings. "So where would we start?" Zander asks. "I'm not sure… they said _under the mountain_ so I guess we start looking around the base?" I say. Zander shrugged and looked around. "I'm starving, where can we eat?" He asked. Mark looked down at a map he printed off the internet. "There's a restaurant around here, and apparently it's really good, can't find a name." Mark said.

After walking for a little while and getting turned around, we finally found the restaurant. We walked inside and were stopped by an employee as soon as we entered. "Sorry, no pets." They said. "HEY, who are you calling PET?" Lovec hissed. The employee stepped back startled, and let us in. "Well that was rude." I said to Lovec. "Hey, he started it." She replied. We went to a table and sat down, blowing into our hands to keep warm. I looked over and saw three children pointing at us and talking silently. "I think they noticed us." I whispered to Zander. "It's kinda hard not to notice two teenagers and two glowing creatures in a random restaurant." Zander replied. I nod my head, agreeing with him. The children walked to our table and pulled three chairs up, sitting down. "Hey, you look like those funny cats under the mountain, are you one of them?" One child asks. Mark and Zander exchange looks. "Funny cats?" Zander asks. "Yeah, there are a lot of them, and they glow really bright!" The child exclaims. Lovec leans over to me. "I thought we were the only spirits to ever visit Earth" She said. "Well, apparently not… how did they get here?" I ask. Lovec shrugs, turning her attention back to the kids. "Do you know how to get to them?" I ask the kids. "Yeah, we go all the time, to talk and say hello." They exclaim. "Could you take us to them?" I ask. "If I get to walk with you, we can take you there." The child says. I exchange looks with Zander and Mark, and turn back to the child. "Ok, I will walk with you." I reply. The kids look at each other excitedly. And get ready to leave. "Hey, before we go, can we eat? We haven't gotten the chance to eat in a while." I ask. The kids nod their heads. "When you're ready to go, meet us at the path towards the mountain." One child says, and they leave the restaurant. "Did they just convince you to walk with them?" Zander asks me. "Yeah, this is the easiest way to find them, and besides, I think they're kinda cute." I say to Zander, with a smirk on my face. "Well, I think you're freakin' adorable, and that means they do to. Just be careful so they don't hug you too hard, or your head will pop off." He said, smiling. I look away, questioning whether or not I should have agreed to the bargain.

After a minute or so, a waiter comes to our table and stared at me and Lovec. "Don't ask." Zander said, and the waiter left it at that. After looking at the menu for food that looked the most delectable, we ordered our drinks and food. Lovec and I got some fruits of different color, and Zander got a _Coke_ , some sort of sickly brown liquid that stings the mouth and nose, but other than that it's pretty good. After a while our food came, and we sat silently and ate. I looked out the window and watched people wearing thick clothes and giant packs on their back. "What are they doing?" I ask, pointing at the people. Zander turned around and looked at the people. "They are probably getting ready to climb the mountain. It's extremely dangerous though, and a lot of people die doing it." He said. I looked back out the window in horror. "Why would they do that if a lot of people die doing it?" I ask. "I don't know… for the thrills? Bragging rights? I never understood either." He replied. I wonder if I should go out there and warn them not to. After we finished our meals and drinks, Mark left a small wad of green paper at the table and we left the restaurant. We walked through the town to a small path, with lines of clothing hanging above it, and saw the kids standing eagerly waiting for us at the foot of the path. "Ready to go? It will take about an hour to get there." One kid says. I look up and see Mount Everest in the distance. It doesn't look too far… or it is, and scale is playing tricks on me. "I guess we're as ready as we'll ever be." I say, looking at Zander and Mark. Most of the way down the path, the kids lingered around me, occasionally asking me things, or touching my ears. They wandered around wearing short sleeved shirts and jeans, reacting fine to the cold weather, and I turn around to see Zander and Mark in long sleeve shirts, jackets, and jeans, and they are freezing in the cold weather. Earth is certainly a weird place. After walking and talking to the kids for a while, Lovec decided to break from her comfort zone and join me. She walked down the path with her sword drawn, sharpening it by pinching her fingers on the sharp end, and running her fingers up and down to narrow it to a fine point. The children decided not to stay around her, due to her intimidating appearance.

"Hey, how did you get that sword?" I asked Lovec. She looked at me, then back to the blade. "It was… I… I don't want to talk about it." She said, affixing her sword in the sheath on her back, looking away. "Ok… I'm sorry if I brought back bad memories." I said. She looked toward the sky and squinted. "Its fine, everyone asks, I've gotten used to it." She said. "We're here!" One of the kids yell, running toward the base of the giant mountain. I quicken my pace and catch up with them. They run down a small staircase to a familiar looking gate, which originated from Nibel. "Huh, it's been a long time since I've seen a Spirit Gate… So I guess it's true that these are spirit guardians... I'm just wondering how they got here." Zander said. One of the kids knocks on the large stone gate. "Hello?" The kid yells. From behind the door, the sliding and clicking of a Keystone can be heard. The door springs to life sliding and grinding open, and revealing an old white spirit, wearing robes colored in shades of red and gold and holding a tall walking stick with multiple charms on it, and an orb of light surrounded by wood on top. "Well, hello again. How are you three… doing?" The spirit says, noticing us. "Well… it's been a long time since I've seen another member of my own species… My name, is Naji… So, how are you Ori? Enjoying the sights?" He asked, with a big smile.


	7. An Ancient Guardian

CHAPTER 7

AN ANCIENT GUARDIAN

Zander

"So you just live here? By yourself? Why?" Ori asked Naji. We sat in an old cave, hollowed out under Mount Everest. Glowing lanterns, similar to the ones in Nibel hung from the ceiling, and Ancestral Trees lie everywhere, devoid of all light. "Well, I have lived here for… about six years now? I'm guarding something extremely important. There were others, but they were or captured by _**them**_ or killed if they fought back." He said. Mark looked at me. "Them?" He mouthed to me. I shrugged. "What do you mean by _**them**_?" Lovec asked. The old spirit looked up at one of the lanterns and sighed. "I don't know who they are, but they are humans, who discovered that we were living here. They came and captured most of us, and killed those who defended themselves." He said. He looked down, with a sad expression on his face. "I was captured with the rest, but escaped on the way to their facility, and hid here with the tree." Ori and Lovec exchanged looks. "The tree?" Lovec asked. "Ah yes. Follow me." He said, lifting himself off the ground with his staff, and walking towards a durable stone door in the back. We stood up and followed closely behind him, looking around the cave. Doesn't seem very homely. He stopped in front of the giant door, examining every part of it. He lifted his staff off the ground, and pounded the ground with tremendous force, creating a loud thundering sound, which emanated through the cave like the inside of a drum. The door's cracks began lighting up with a blazing red color, like the burning hot plates of the Forlorn Ruins. The door shatters, leaving shards of the door floating in midair, slowly moving outward and making a large walkway, and revealing a Tree, resembling that of the Spirit Tree. Ori walked in, with his mouth hanging open. Light lingered in the air, it feels like I'm back on Nibel.

"What… what is this doing here? It looks like the Spirit Tree!" Ori exclaimed. "And it is! When I first got here, a hundred years ago, something else came with me, a small glowing object… a seed from the tree. The tree told me to plant it, but he never told me why, but he said it was important." Naji said, approaching the tree, and placing his hand on the strong bark. It was almost as big as a fully grown redwood tree, but was nowhere close to the actual size of the Spirit Tree in Nibel. "So, my story aside, let's examine you all!" Naji said. "Uh… examine?" I ask. "Well of course! I have the ability to see within you, see your spirit, your feelings, your memories… I practiced this art, but doing so has rendered me blind, but I can still see your spirit." He exclaimed. "So enough delay… Zander! Come here!" The old spirit said. He stuck his staff into the ground and held out his hands. Walked up to him and hesitantly put my hands in his, instantly losing all senses. It felt weird having something poking around in my head, including if it was a small spirit creature. "Ahh, Spirits from Nibel exist within you? Fil! How are you holding up?" Naji asked. "Being in someone else's body is strange, but fun. I enjoy it." A spirit within me remarks. Naji nods his head and continues searching. "Hmmm… well… seeing Nibel? How was the trip through your first rift?" He asked. "Didn't feel comfortable." I said. "Ah, they never do." He said, and continued searching through my head. "You helped Ori save Nibel? You're going to get some great bragging rights back there, you realize that right?" He said, chuckling. He let go of my hands and I regain my senses. "Alright, now for Ori." He said. Ori held out their hands and the spirit reached for them. Ori lifted his black hands, and as soon as they touched his hands, Naji recoiled, and pulled their hands back in. "Ori you… you are not well…" He shuddered. He put his hands back on Ori's and stood silently for a moment. "You are being taken over by darkness… darkness brought on by dark emotion… this is not good." He said. "Can we cure this?" Ori asked. Naji let go and looked down. "I… I do not know, but if you continue on this path, you will most likely turn into a wraith." He said, quietly. Wraith… a corrupted spirit, from that old story Sein told us in Nibel, while we were in the Misty Woods… I honestly thought that was a tale she told to scare us. "So… this… is it going to kill me?" Ori asked. Naji stood silently. "I'm not sure, but if you turn… you won't be able to go back to your old self… your wraith form will vow to kill everything… you must be careful with your emotions Ori. Luckily you've got wonderful friends here to help you stay calm." He said, smiling. "Alright, now you!" He said, pointing at Mark. "Uh… is this necessary?" Mark asked. "As necessary as need be, now come over here." The spirit said, holding his hands out. Mark walked over to him, and placed his hands on Naji's hands. "Hmm… there's nothing very interesting about you." He said. "Oh great." Mark said, with a monotone voice. "But… you are very considerate… and follow your friends, wherever they go… you seem like a good person Mark." He said.

Mark blushed, and stepped backwards. I nudged him with my elbow and raised my right eyebrow at him. "Stop." He said. "Ah, and I wouldn't forget you, Lovec… Come here, and give me your hands." He said, holding his hands out. Lovec stepped back, looking shy. "Ah, now there is no need to worry, I don't bite… hard." He said, chuckling. Lovec slowly walked towards him, and hesitantly placed her hands in his palms, closing her eyes. "Well… you certainly know how to protect yourself with a sword…" He said, focusing. Lovec shifted uncomfortably. "Ah… so that's where you got that blade… I'm sorry." He said, letting go of her hands. Lovec pulled her hands back, and retreated behind us, sitting down. "Well, looking at everyone here, we've got a guardian and a human who know what they're doing, a blade slinger, and a… bystander." He said. "Thanks." Mark said sarcastically. "Don't mention it." Naji said. "I know you want to get back to Nibel, Ori. But to do that, we need to get the other spirits back. They were taken not too long ago, but I fear for what is happening to them right now... I can only imagine the horrors." He said, looking down at the floor. "Well, we should get going! God knows what is happening to them in there!" I say, walking towards the Spirit Gate. I get to the gate, and push the key affixed to the slot into the door, activating it. I turn around and look at Naji, who is slowly walking to the door. "Will you come with us?" I ask. He looks down and squints his eyes. "Well… I have nothing else to do here. I guess I'll come." He said, smiling. Ori walked up behind him, and smiled. The door grinded to a halt behind me, and the cold air of Mount Everest stung my neck. Ori's expression changed drastically, and pointed. Before I could fully turn around, the stock of an assault rifle hit my cheek, and everything goes black.


	8. Taken

CHAPTER 8

TAKEN

Zander

"Zander, please wake up! Zander? ZANDER!" My eyes pop open. I'm face down on a slightly uncomfortable rocky ground. I push myself up and my head explodes with pain. I grip my head and fall back down, a rifle stock is a terrible thing to take to the face. My jaw feels rather loose. "Zander, they took them! They took Ori and Lovec! They took Naji, too!" The spirits in my head shouted. I look around the cave and see nobody, I'm alone. I shift my hand on the ground and touch something, making a skittering metal noise. I look down and see a sword. Lovec's sword. She must have dropped it. "Mark? Mark!" I shout. "They took him too, he fought back and they saw him as a threat." The spirits say. Alone again… just like the boulder in Nibel separated me from my friends, my friends were taken from me by the species I belong to. I push myself off the ground and pick up the small sword, sliding it through the belt loop on the left side of my jeans, flaying some of the threading on it. "Where did they go?" I ask. "I don't know, but the vehicle they left had the letters E, F, D, R, and S printed on the side." The spirit says. EFDRS… the Everest Facility of Distributed Research and Study. They never really cared about anything other than discovery, and would mow down a house or two to get it. They isolated themselves in their facility months ago, and nobody has heard anything from them since… guess that explains it. One upside is that their facility is somewhere around here… must have built it when they discovered the guardians' hiding place, I just have to find out where it is and how to get there. I stumble up the rocky staircase and push the keystone into the door, grinding it open. Freezing cold air hits me, stinging my face and eyes. The sky shows black, meaning night time, and the stars are illuminating the sky with a milky color. I would stop to marvel at the beauty, but frankly I don't care right now. I walk through the freezing cold air back to the airport we first stopped in and went into a restaurant. "Hey aren't you the guy from earlier?" Waiter asks. I turn my head towards them, and their eyes widen. "You're bleeding, we need to get you to a hospital!" He says. I reach for the impact wound of the rifle stock, and feel something wet. I guess they tagged me pretty hard.

"I… I can't, I don't have time… do you have any bandages or gauze?" I ask. The guy thinks for a moment. "We do in the back, let me get it." He said, running through a doorway. I sit down and try to make a Soul Link. I've never tried to make one before, because I never had to, so I don't know how it will work. I struggle and I begin glowing, but then it stops. The only reason Soul Links worked in Nibel is because there was a benevolent higher power I was connecting to, and when the link was completed, a Soul Link would be made. There is no higher power that I can think of on Earth… except for the Tree in the sanctuary under Everest. I close my eyes and imagine the small tree under Everest. It wasn't grown up, but it definitely spread light. I concentrated on that thought, and then a large blue flame envelopes my body. The very first Soul Link made on Earth. Another achievement by me. My wound begins closing up, and the waiter comes around the corner, and drops the bandages on the ground. "What the fff… what the HELL did you just do?!" He shouts. I step out of the fire and see his face, and I turn around, looking at the fire. "Don't worry, it's not real fire, but don't touch it." I say, picking up the bandages, handing it to him.

"Your wound is gone… how did you do that?" He asked. I thought to myself for a second. "I'm a magician." I said. He looked confused for a second, then dropped the subject. "Hey, do you have any way for me to get to the EFDRS? It's important." I ask. He looks down and thinks for a moment. "I have a truck, and my shift is practically over, but why do you want to go there? It's fenced in with barbwire, they won't let anyone in." He said. "Take me there, please! It's really important that I get there!" I say. "Alright, let me finish up and I'll take you. What's your name by the way?" He asks. "Zander, you?" I ask. "Andy." He says. I nod my head and sit by the door. After a couple minutes, he finishes up and we walk out the door, and to his truck. I jump in the bed of the truck and he looks at me funny. "Why are you sitting there? We're by Mount Everest and it's freezing." He says. "Cold doesn't bother me." I say, shrugging. He nods and leaves it at that. He gets in his truck and starts it up, and begins driving, turning onto a road curving around the edges of the mountains. In the distance, a faint light begins showing itself. We are close to the facility. Andy rolls down his window, and sticks his head out. "So, why do you want to go here?" He asks. I took him all this way, so I might as well answer truthfully. "They took someone close to me… who isn't human." I said. "Oh, so a pet?" He asks. "No, they actually… aren't from Earth." I say. Andy chuckled. "Not from Earth? Are you saying aliens?" He asked. "Nope, they aren't from this dimension." I say. "You can't be serious." He said. I leaned over the edge of his truck and looked him in the eyes. "Do I LOOK like I'm joking?!" I shout. His expression changes and he looks forward again. "So, what does he… THEY look like?" He asks. I think for a moment. "Remember seeing me earlier? With the white things?" I ask. His eyes open wide. "Wait, those things? You've got to be kidding me, I thought that was some sort of cat!" He said. "A glowing cat with hooves, antennae, and three fingers on each hand?" I ask. "Well I don't know! This is insane, you're being serious!" He said. We approached the facility, and I spotted men with guns. "Quick, turn off your headlights and go right!" I shout. He quickly flicks them off and turns right. We park near the fence, about a hundred yards from the gate. "So what now?" He asks. I extend my hook and sharpen the wire with my fingers pinched. "I'd step back if I were you." I say, and step back. He moves behind the truck and watches me. I spin and swing the hook as hard as I can through the barb wire, slicing the fence from the top down. "Dude, we're going to get arrested!" He whispers loudly. "It's fine, we won't get caught. Okay Andy, I'm going to be right back, and I need you to stay here." I say. "Okay then… god, this is a terrible idea!" He said. I pushed through the fence and began running toward the building. Hold on Ori… I'm coming.


	9. Unlike his Usual Self

CHAPTER 9

UNLIKE HIS USUAL SELF

Ori

" **Look at you… pathetic**." The world is a giant flat stone platform, and a black sky. "Hello?" I say, hoping for a response. A black figure appears in front of me. They look just like me. " **You saved an entire world, yet you can't even save yourself.** " He says. "What do you mean?" I ask. " **Your hands, your feet, your head, they are turning black. The longer you are here the more corrupt you become. You could have stopped this but you just HAD to see your** _ **friend**_ ". He said, making quotes with his hands. "He IS my friend!" I reply, sternly. " **Shut up! He's human! Humans are destroying this world! If they got to Nibel they would do the same just to get power! HE IS JUST LIKE THEM!** " He shouts. "NO HE ISN'T, HE'S DIFFERENT!" I shout. " **You naïve child... When will you learn? Get out of here, I have no reason to speak to you anymore!** " He said, raising his hand. "Wait, what are you doing?" I ask. He dropped his hand, and a hole opened underneath me. I drop into it, and fall into consciousness, struggling to grab onto something.

My eyes pop open and I'm laying down in a square room, with glass walls, with hundreds of tiny holes covering them. My left eye is blurry, I can barely see out of it. I touch my face, and see my arm is almost completely black. I look down and most of my body is black, except for my chest and shoulders. "Ori! You're awake." Lovec shouted. She was in a cell next to me. "I… I can't see… Lovec!" I shout. "Shut up in there!" A man shouts. "He can't see, he needs help!" Lovec shouts. "I said, SHUT THE HELL UP!" The man shouts angrily. I look at Lovec, who is standing at the edge of her cell, staring at the guard with rage. "Lovec" I whisper. She looks at me. "Blink." I mouth to her, pointing at the man. She looks at me, then the man. She backs up, then flashes, slamming into the wall inside her cell. She pushes herself up and looks around, shocked. "What, you think we'd let you use your abilities to escape? Nice try." The mean man said, turning back around. She slumps up against the back of her cell and stares at him. Escaping was going to be hard enough, now we can't even use our abilities to get out. "Psst." I look up at Lovec, who is still staring at the man. It wasn't her. "PSST." I look upwards and see Zander's face in a vent. He puts his finger to his lips, as if telling me to stay quiet. He crawls above the man, and stomps the vent, breaking through and falling on him. He moans for a second, and Zander punches him in the face, knocking him out. "HURTS doesn't it!?" He shouts. "Zander? What are you doing here?" I ask. "I'm not just gonna leave you here!" He says. He searches the man's pockets and pulls out a rectangular plastic card, running to the glass cell and swiping it through something. The cell opens and he moves on to Lovec's cell. "You got my sword? Thanks!" Lovec said. Zander pulled the sword from his belt loop, and handed it to her.

He turned around and looked through the swinging doors in the back of the room. "Oh my god… there's a lot of them." He said. "A lot of what?" I ask. "Spirits… a hundred, at least." He said. A hundred… we have to help them. He slowly pushed the door open and looked around. "Looks clear. Come on." He said, stepping inside. I pushed the doors open and walked through, instantly filled with… some terrible emotion. All the spirits in here had large bandages covering their stomach, were in drug induced sleep, or in extreme pain, curled up and moaning. I put my hands over my mouth and stumbled back through the doors. "Ori! Are you ok?" Zander asked. "N-no… I'm not… I want to go home!" I shout, tears filling my eyes. The door on the other side of the room opened and a man in a lab coat stepped through, seeing Zander and I. He was about to flip a switch on the wall, when Zander shot him in the leg with his grapple hook, pulling him toward us. "STOP, I DIDN'T MEAN ANY HARM!" The scientist shouted. Zander ran to him and pinned down his arms and legs. "Why are you doing this then?! HUH? YOU ARE HARMING THESE SPIRITS!" He shouted. The scientist began babbling incoherently, struggling to get out of Zander's grip. "Zander, stop!" I shout. He looks at me and lets him go. The scientist scrambles to get away and busts through the door, out of sight. Zander bends over and puts his hands on his knees, catching his breath. "We need to get back to Nibel… I can't stand living here anymore." He said, walking through the door. I gather all of my courage and walk through the doors, looking down so I don't look at the horrors.

Zander walks to a control panel in the center of the room and slid the card through a slot, opening all of the cells. He and Lovec went around picking up and carrying all of the drugged spirits, and I got all of the ones who were awake to follow us out. "God Zander, it's so much like you to do this!" Mark shouted, running to the front. Zander opened another set of swinging doors and stopped walking. I look ahead and see a man with a scowl on his face, clenching his fists. "What do you think you are doing!? THESE BELONG TO ME!" The man shouts. "I'm leaving… with these spirits, who belong in Nibel. Now if you'll excuse me, we must get going." Zander said. "No! You are not leaving without a fight!" The man shouted, pulling out one of the dangerous metal things. Zander slowly set the drugged guardians on the ground and stared at him. "Are you sure you want this? I'm wanting to walk out without fighting you. At the moment, the only thing I want to do is butcher you… but I'm putting my rage aside to help these spirits and my friends. Now I'm going to say this one time only… let us go." Zander says. "I'VE SPENT YEARS AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TRACKING THESE CREATURES, I AM NOT LETTING YOU GO!" The man shouted, pointing the object at Zander. Zander looked down and shook his head. "Lovec, can I see your sword?" Zander asked quietly. Lovec hesitantly handed her sword to him. He looked up and stared at the man, who was beginning to regret his decision. "Ori… please look away." Zander said. "Zander?" I said. "Ori… please…" He said, sounding like he was about to cry. "Alright guys, let's go back." Mark said, moving the spirits back out the door. I turned around and covered my ears, hoping I wouldn't hear anything… but I still heard everything.

After a minute of shouting and a couple bangs, everything went quiet. I let my hands fall from my ears and someone picked me up. I looked up and saw Zander, with a face I have never seen on him before… emotionless. A crimson liquid covered his hands, smearing on my chest and dripping onto my legs. "Ori, don't look at him…" He said, and pulled my head close to his chest, covering my eyes. "Mark, let's go." Zander said. Mark pushed the door open and let out a sigh of disbelief. "Zander… you…" He stammered. "I did what I had to… he was threatening us… he was preventing us from leaving. I need to go back to Nibel." Zander said. "We can arrange that… if you have any business to attend to, we will be in the sanctuary… you can meet us there when you are ready to go back." Naji said. Zander pushed the front door open and walked to a fence to the left, and the outline of a man was standing there. "Jesus Christ Zander, you weren't joking about those creatures!" He shouted. "We need to get back to Mount Everest, please help us?" Zander asked. "Yeah of course!" He said, jumping into his truck. Zander got opened the front door and sat down, still holding me. Some of the spirits got into the back and we started driving. "What happened to you Zander?" The man asked. "Please don't ask…" Zander said, staring through the window. I looked out the window and watched the scenery go by. I don't want to be here anymore. After taking multiple trips, taking the spirits back to their home, we head to the town one last time.


	10. Back For Good

CHAPTER 10

BACK FOR GOOD

Zander

Mark and I spent an hour shopping for clothing and such, almost maxing out his credit card. One of the last things we got was a new Polaroid camera, with the ability to print out pictures, like the old model cameras, and 4 packs of 50 photo sensitive slips, if we ever wanted to store memories. Mark decided that leaving Earth was the best decision to make, and planned on coming with me. After that we hitched a ride with Andy to Everest, and on the way I called my mother, telling her I loved her. As she was questioning the reason I was telling her all these things, I hung up, snapping the flip phone in half, throwing it out the window. I didn't want to tell her myself that I was leaving, and possibly never coming back. "So Mark, you're okay with this? Leaving Earth, abandoning everything you had?" I ask. "Well, you make this Nibel place sound so much like paradise, and to be honest, I never liked it that much here anyways. I guess I'm okay with it." He said, rolling down the window and tossing his credit card. We sat silently for a couple minutes, staring out the window, thinking of what is to come, and what we will lose. I was not planning on changing my mind, but I am going to miss a lot. We pulled up by the sanctuary door and came to a halt. We all stepped out of the truck and Andy approached me. "So Zander… I guess this is goodbye." He said. "Yeah, I guess so… thank you for helping me get here, and for everything… Bye Andy." He reached his hand out, and I met it with my own, shaking his hand. Mark and I walked down the steps into the sanctuary, and saw the spirits gathered around the miniature Spirit Tree. Naji turns around and sees us. "Ah, Zander! You've finally come. Listen before you go, there are a few things you must know." Naji said. I nodded my head.

"First thing, once you enter the portal, you can never come back, we are forcing the portal open, past the authority of the higher power on Earth, and once you enter the portal will be destroyed. Secondly, not only is your spirit going to Nibel, but your body is going as well, so you will no longer have a connection to Earth… you would become part of Nibel. Thirdly, the spirits within you will be lost to the astral plane as you travel to Nibel… they will never be seen again. And lastly, if you were to die in Nibel, there would be a small chance you could come back to life, as you once did before. Your soul would be shattered, and scattered across the Astral Plane… You must be careful in Nibel, Zander… and Mark… look after them." Naji said. "I'll do my best to keep this knucklehead alive." Mark said, lightly punching my shoulder. "Oh shush, if anything, I'm going to be the one keeping you alive." I said. Ori chuckled at our childish attitudes. "One last thing… Mark, you haven't been bound to the light, the only way for you to become an accepted creature in Nibel is to be bound to it. It will not be hard, if you are meant for it, you will immediately fall asleep on the Spirit Well… but if you are not strong, you may die." Naji said. Mark looked at me nervously. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." I said.

"Well, I guess that is that!" Naji said. He turned around and the spirits in the room gathered around a small stone circle in the room's center. Naji lifted his staff and slammed the bottom onto the ground, making a thundering boom. Suddenly a vertical line appeared in the center of the room, and it widened, ripping reality apart. "Now!" Naji shouted. Ori and Lovec jumped through the portal first. "Here we go." I said, then we jumped through the tear, overcome with extreme nausea, then blacking out.

 **Have a good life while you can, I'll find you soon enough…**

I woke up with the worst migraine I have ever experienced. Head pulsing, feeling like I was going to be sick. "Zander, it worked!" Ori shouted. I rolled myself over and moaned. "Oh, rough ride?" Lovec asked. I nodded my head, with my eyes closed. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with fresh air. It's good to be back. I pushed myself up and staggered around, still nauseated. I looked around and saw familiar sights. Ginso Tree with water pouring from the top, the Spirit Tree, still standing tall, the Forlorn Ruins, still… ruined… and Swallows Nest… Naru's home. I looked around to see where we were, and terrible memories rose… this is Mount Horu… not only that, but this is where I died long ago. I looked down and saw Mark face down, passed out. I rolled him over and took off his backpack. "Oh my… is he dead?!" Lovec shouted. "No, he just passed out from the trip. It was his first ride, and hopefully his last." I said. I placed my hand on his chest, and shook him. No response. I got a small bottle of water from my backpack and spun the top off, cracking the seal and pouring a bit on his face, instantly waking him up. He gasped loudly as soon as the freezing water hit his face, jerking around.

"GOD THAT'S COLD!" He shouted, looking around. "Wheeeere are we?" He asked. "Nibel!" Ori exclaimed. "Yep, this is it… this is Nibel." I said. He looked around astonished and speechless. "Hey Mark, so remember when I told you I died here?" I asked. He looked at me funny. "Yeah I remember." He said. "Well this is it, I died right here." I said, pointing at the spot behind him. He jumped up and quickly stepped away from the unholy spot, brushing himself off. "So, where do we go?" He asked. "We should go to the Spirit Tree, it would be a good place for Mark to start, and besides, we have to cleanse the darkness from your body." I said to Ori. He looked down at his skin, still blackened with darkness. We spent hours walking down the mountain, and travelling through familiar places and getting to the Spirit Tree. As soon as the Spirit Gate opened, spirits began gathering around Mark and I. Mark looked around nervously at the spirits, while I sat down, trying to get to know them. There were too many for me to remember their names, but I know their faces. We walked into the area, and Mark's jaw dropped as soon as he saw the tree. "What the... is that a tree? It's huge!" He shouted. "It's thousands of years old, and hasn't stopped growing." Ori said. Mark continued to stare at it, so I just left him to his thoughts. We walked Ori to the center Spirit Well, and as soon as he stepped into the well, the blackness covering his skin rose off of his body in a black mist, floating away.

Mark approached the well, still looking at the tree and stopped behind me. "So uh… how will this whole thing work? Becoming part of the light." He asked. "I'm not sure, when I got here, I was already a part of the light for some reason, it's like I was bound to this world before I even got here." I said. "Will this hurt?" Mark asked. "No, it shouldn't… we've never done this before, but all you have to do is lay down on the Spirit Well, and if you fall asleep, we should leave you there until you wake up." Ori said. "Don't worry, I'll stay by your side until then." I said. Mark smiled nervously, took a deep breath, and crawled onto the Well, instantly passing out. I sat down, leaning against the Well, and closed my eyes. Ori walked up and sat down next to me, sighing loudly. "I'm so glad we're back… and I'm so happy that you're here…" He said. He was quiet for a moment. "Are you upset… that you left everything behind?" Ori asked. I opened my eyes, and thought for a moment. "There will be times where I miss my life on Earth… but I feel like this was the best choice I could make." I said. Ori nodded. Lovec pulled the sheath off of her back and placed it next to the Well, sitting down next to Ori. "I'll be fine, you don't have to stay here with me you know." I said. "I know we don't have to be here, but we are anyways." Ori said, leaning against my shoulder, and closing his eyes. We sat by the well for hours, sleeping and chatting, playing small games, and just relaxing. I have missed this place so much, and it's such a relief that I'm finally back for good. But there's this weird feeling nagging at the back of my head… a feeling of unrelenting dread.


	11. A Day Off

CHAPTER 11

A DAY OFF

Ori

My eyes slowly open, and I stretch my arms and legs outward, taking a deep breath. Underneath me I can feel the steady breathing and heartbeat of my mother. A dreamcatcher hangs above, and drawings of Me, Naru, Gumo, Kuro, and Lovec are on the rock next to me. I'm in Naru's cave the day after Zander and Mark arrived in Nibel. After Mark woke up from his light fix, we let him regain his senses and we began introducing Mark and Zander to all of our friends, showing them sights and unique places in Nibel (Ginso Tree, base of Mount Horu, Forlorn Ruins), then we went to Naru's cave. Naru greeted Lovec and me as soon as we entered, but when she saw Zander, her eyes lit up. She didn't even know him for a day, and she instantly recognized him three years later.

She hugged Zander as soon as she saw him, and he introduced Mark. He was obviously intimidated by Naru's large appearance, but quickly grew to like her. We sat and I got to tell mom that I went to Zander's world, and told her my experience on Earth (leaving out all of the life threatening parts). Naru introduced Zander and Mark to Zari, Kuro's daughter, and they got to know her. Later after that, Gumo showed up, and we sat down to talk, share experiences, and explain why Zander is back, and why he brought someone with him. After talking and eating fruit we just all started getting tired, so we went to sleep. I look over and see Mark sound asleep, leaning against Naru. I look around and see Lovec asleep next to the mouth of the cave and Gumo sleeping across from her, along with Zari. But Zander is nowhere to be seen. I slowly slide off Naru's large belly, and walk out of the cave, rubbing my eye. Zander is directly ahead, sitting down on a large flat stone.

"Hey Zander, what're you doing?" I ask. He looks over at me and smiles.

"Well, I'm just… taking it all in. I'm just glad to finally be back." He replied. I approach him and sit down next to him, resting my chin on his shoulder.

"Well… what do you wanna do today?" I ask. He tilts his head slightly.

"Hmm… nothing." He says.

"What? Nothing? Why?" I ask. "It's been a stressful week, so today I should just… sit back and do absolutely nothing." Zander replies. I lean back and put my hands on the ground behind me, keeping me upright.

"Well… doesn't that sound… I dunno, boring?" I ask.

"Yep… completely and absolutely boring… that's the whole point." Zander replies. I look up at the sky, and follow a slow moving cloud with my eyes. Zander lays back and stretches, making a weird noise as he extends his arm. He squints his eyes, like he remembered something.

"Hmm… hold on a sec." He says, standing up and walking into the cave, returning with a bag. He sifts through it, and his face lights up.

"Yeah, I knew I had these somewhere!" He exclaimed.

"What?" I ask. He reaches into the bag and pulls out the shiny white bag from the train.

"I still have this bag of candy, I thought I lost it, but it was in my bag the whole time. Chocolate's probably melted now." He said. He turns the bag over and dumps the contents onto the rock. There is a bag of butterscotch, a small bag of weirdly shaped red and green candy, a bag of stringy, colorful "gummies", and other varieties of candy.

"Hmm, you only know what butterscotch tastes like, and other than that all of this is fruit flavored… But it's hard to know what you'll like." Zander says. He sifts through the contents and pulls out a small green and red bag. He carefully rips the top open and pulls out a small, half circle shaped piece of red and green candy.

"Watermelon, but it's the sour kind… wanna try?" He asks.

"What's a _sour_?" I ask.

"Uhh… it tastes really... um… tangy? Like, REALLY tangy." He explained.

"Here, just try one." He said, handing me a piece. I hold it and pieces of something with the texture of sand fall off. I put it onto my tongue and I'm instantly hit with a strong taste of… _sourness_.

"Eugh, what is this?" I ask. "Its sour watermelon gummies, it'll taste good in a sec." Zander replies. I begin chewing and a sweet flavor fills my mouth. I've never tasted this type of fruit.

"It's pretty good, but it's way too sour." I say. The acidic taste leaves my mouth and I begin to fully taste the sweetness, in a flavor that I can only describe as "red". I chew for a bit longer and eventually turns into liquid.

"Want some more?" Zander asks. "No, I'm good for right now." I reply, running my tongue across my teeth.

"Well, good morning!" A motherly voice speaks. I look over and see Naru standing at the mouth of the cave.

"Hi Naru!" I say. I run to her and she picks me up, pulling me into a hug.

"Good morning Naru." Zander says, waving.

"What do you have there?" Naru asks, pointing at the candy. I look at him and shake my head, knowing she may either dislike it, or eat all of it.

"It's nothing, just some stuff." Zander says, scooping it into the bag, and pushing it into his jacket pocket.

"Alright, well what are you going to do today?" Naru asks.

"Just sit here, walk around Swallows Nest, just relax… It's a nice day out." Zander replied. Mark walked from behind Naru and looked onto the horizon, at the Spirit Tree.

"Woah… this place is beautiful…" He said. He walked past Naru and sat next to me and Zander. Mark looked at Naru, and leaned close to me.

"I really like being around her." He whispered. "I know, she does that sometimes, you know her for a few hours and suddenly you're attached to her." I reply.

"Yeah, pretty much." Mark says. Zander pushes himself up and walks to the bridge connecting this area to the next, over the river. I look back at the spirit tree, and I suddenly remember something.

"Oh, Zander wait!" I yell. I push myself up and run to him.

"Yeah? What's up?" He asks.

"Well, some spirits have tasks and duties they do daily, remember that?" I ask.

"Hmm… yeah." He replies. "Well, we have to go to the spirit tree to see if you have one of your own." I say.

"Ugh… a job? I thought that I wouldn't need to get one." He whines. "You never know, you may like it." I reply. He looks at the sky and sighs sarcastically.

"Can't we stay for a lil' while longer?" Zander asked. "We don't HAVE to go right now, do we?" I look down and sigh loudly.

"Fine, we can stay here a bit longer if you like." I reply. He grabs me and picks me up, squeezing me tightly in his arms, then runs off into the forest. I rub my sides and walk back to the cave, sitting down next to Mark.

"I always wondered, what are you made out of, and what ARE you? You glow all the time, and you kinda look like a cat thing." Mark asked.

"Well… I'm made out of light, I know that, and we call ourselves 'spirits', but… what's a cat?" I ask. Mark looked back at the tree.

"Umm… never mind." He replied. I left it at that and looked back at the tree. A pair of hands wrap around me and pull me off the ground.

"Good MOOORNING, Ori!" Lovec shouts, holding me tightly. I struggle for a moment and wiggle out of her arms.

"Good morning, Lovec." I reply. "How did you sleep? To be honest, I miss that thing we slept on while we were on Earth." She said.

"I slept fine… but I would have to agree with you, I loved that thing." I reply, remembering its comfort. She gasped loudly.

"We could try and MAKE one of those! We don't have much to build with, but we could try." She exclaimed.

"Make? Using what?" I ask. Her smile goes blank, and she looks down. "Umm… yeah, never mind." She says, laying down next to me. Naru walked over and sat down next to me, staring off toward the tree. We sat silently for a while.

"This _doing nothing_ thing… it's nice." Naru says, shifting her position. "Oh wait! I have an idea!" Mark says, pulling a strange cube out of his shoulder bag.

"What is that?" I ask, pointing at the black cube.

"It's a camera… it um… it takes what it sees and puts it onto a square, so we can look at it later on… like storing memories." He explains. A figure moves in the corner of my eye and I look over, seeing Gumo step out of the cave, rubbing both of his eyes, yawning loudly.

"Gumo! Just in time, ZANDER, we're taking a group photo, come on!" Mark shouts.

"What? What did I walk in on?" Gumo asks.

"Don't worry, everyone gather around the mouth of the cave." Mark said, setting up the camera on the rock surface. Zander approaches from over the hill and walks to the small gathering in front of the cave.

"Alright, where do I stand?" Zander asks.

"Here, Ori, stand next to Zander up front, and Zander, you crouch down low." Mark said, putting the finishing touches on the camera. Everyone gathered around the mouth of the cave, and I walked up to Zander's side, who was sitting on the ground in front of them.

"Alright, now everyone smile!" Mark said, clicking the button on top, and running to the group. I smile and look at the small black circle on the camera, and it flashes brightly, capturing the memory of our second day back.

 **Hey everyone, I hope you're enjoying Ori and the New World so far. I'm really enjoying making it. Tell me if I should continue writing in this format, since this is my first chapter using it. I always love feedback, so let me know!**


	12. A Horrific Discovery

CHAPTER 12

A HORRIFIC DISCOVERY

Zander

"Ori, come on, hurry!" I stood atop one of the floating mountains, shades of red and orange leaves filled my eyesight, something I wasn't used to seeing in Nibel. A year ago, when I got here, I was given the title "explorer". I was told that it meant I had to explore and map areas outside of Nibel, since Nibel isn't a whole world, just the forest where the Spirit Tree, Forlorn Ruins, Ginso Tree, and Mount Horu reside. As far as I know, no Forest Spirit has come this far. In the distance, a great yellow mass spreads across the landscape like butter. Possibly a desert? Ori crawls onto the ridge I stand on, and collapses, trying to catch his breath. After a couple seconds of heavy breathing, he pushes himself up, looking around.

"Wow… I've never been this far outside Nibel." Ori said. A flash of silver catches my eye, and I look down, spotting a descending staircase leading to a steel door.

"What's that?" I ask, pointing to the door. "Hmm… I didn't know there were any structures this far out." Ori said. I slid down the hill, reaching the staircase. Ori hesitantly followed and walked down the stairway with me. The door is equipped with the common "place object here" lock. Activated by the pressure of the exact object corresponding, they are said to be impossible to open without its object.

But I've found an exploit. We haven't named it yet, but it's a type of non-Newtonian fluid that acts out of the norm when met with certain forces, extracted from a pit in the Misty Woods. I reach into my backpack and pull out a bag filled with it, and begin filling the slot with the sticky goop. After spreading the liquid through the whole slot, filling it to the brim, I punch the fluid in the center, applying the pressure needed to activate the door.

The object plate spins, and the door splits in half. The door slides to a halt and dank, humid air pours out. From the looks of it, there is nothing interesting about the area inside. It appears to be a perfectly cube shaped room, lined with dark steel or a type of stone… and a single hole in the center, about a couple meters wide. I walk up to it, and peek down the hole. Looking down, it's almost like light isn't allowed to pass at a certain point, almost like a black fog fills the hole. Ori shivered.

"You ok?" I ask, tilting my head. He rubbed his arms, as if he were trying to warm himself up. "I don't know… something feels off about this place." He said, looking around. I looked back down the back pit.

"Well, we came all this way, might as well explore it." I say, inching toward the hole. "Wait, are you sure this is safe?" Ori asks.

"Only one way to find out." I reply. I point my grapple hook at the ceiling and shoot at a patch of stone above the hole, creating a line to slowly descend into the hole. I reach toward Ori and he grabs my hand, allowing me to pull him close to me. I step into the hole and start to slowly descend. After what seems like an eternity, we finally see the ground, and we drop safely onto it. It was freezing cold, and extremely creepy inside. Square or rectangular patches of steel took the place of concrete, and a faint, pulsing hum created ambiance throughout the whole cave, sounding like the heartbeat of a black hole.

Something about this place makes me incredibly uneasy. I retract the hook from the ceiling above. After about 15 seconds, the hook lands on the ground next to me, sliding into the chassis of my grapple hook. We slowly walk through the cave, occasionally passing by a pillar rising from the ground. This is no normal cave, this is completely hand made. I wouldn't even compare it to Gumon… the steel isn't Kharatic, and the stone lining some of the walls isn't any stone I've seen before. We walk through a narrow doorway and the cave opens up.

"Woah… this place is huge..." Ori says, looking around. The cave appears to extend infinitely in every direction, except forward. If either of us were to fall, it looks like we would never hit the ground. The only way we can go is forward, across a bridge of concrete and steel. The cave turned from claustrophobic to wide open really quick.

After walking for a while, we come across a structure suspended by nothing in midair. The drop to it is about 100 feet, and there is nothing to lower myself on, so my best bet is to jump for it and hope I roll at the perfect time. Ori jumps without any hesitation and lands on the ground daintily. I step back, and run towards the edge, jumping as far as I can. As I hit the ground, I make no effort to keep myself upright, and I fall to my right shoulder, rolling across the meat of my back, parallel from my spine. After rolling for a second, I push myself up and stagger backwards, bumping into a pillar. If I were on Earth, people would freak out over this impressive act, but it is a thing commonly seen here on Nibel… but I still felt cool. I look up and see an extremely wide, circular hole. Something feels very wrong… I slowly walk towards the hole, and Ori immediately rushes to me, pushing me away.

"Don't go near that! I don't know what it is, but it's unsafe…" He says, looking back at it. I step sideways and climb up a pillar to look inside of it. A couple meters below the rim, a thick, sickly black liquid sloshes around inside, pulsing with a pure dark energy. I slide back down, and meet up with Ori.

"We need to leave… we have to tell someone about this." I say.

"Yeah, let's get out of here, fast." Ori says. Something to the right catches my eye. A black figure, bent over something.

"Hold on." I say. I climb the pillar again and look down at the creature. The sounds of munching and ripping is clearly audible. I look closer and become sick. It is eating the body of a spirit, not originating from Nibel. Usually, any spirit bursts into light when they die, and become an Ancestral Tree over time, allowing other spirits to gain its light, but this creature killed a spirit and kept its body from turning into light, allowing it to feed on its corpse. I slide down the pillar and grab Ori, shooting the platform above us, pulling ourselves towards it.

"What happened? Zander!" Ori shouted. I was unable to say anything, we have to report this back. I carried Ori the whole way outside.

"What happened?!" Ori shouted, squirming out of my arms.

"That thing was EATING a spirit! It was a type of Wraith or something! I-It was… ugh, I don't feel so good…" I stammer, breathing heavily. Ori thought to himself for a moment and began running.

"HEY!" I shouted, scrambling off the ground, struggling to catch up. We ran east, towards Nibel, not even bothering to close the door. We had to tell someone. Darkness was soon to come.


	13. A Terrifying Foe

CHAPTER 13

A TERRIFYING FOE

Ori

"SEIN!" I shout, pulling myself to the top of the Spirit Tree

"Ori? What's wrong?" She says, from the branched grasp of the Tree.

"Zander and I found something! West of here is a cave, with something evil and powerful in it, we have to do something!" I shout.

"West? Wait… what did the inside look like?" Sein asked. I thought for a moment.

"There was a lot of steel and stone, in square structures, and it was really deep underground." I said.

"What did the evil look like? If you saw it, that is." Sein asked in a rushed voice.

"It was a black liquid, in a wide pit. That was the source of the darkness in there." I said. Sein became quiet.

"How… how did you open it? The key was destroyed… did you leave it open?" Sein asked. I became uneasy.

"Yes… we did leave it open." I said. I had a feeling we shouldn't have entered that place… I should have trusted my gut. "What is that place?" I ask. Sein was silent for a moment, and let out a sigh.

"To explain it to you, I have to tell you the story behind it, it was a vault we created long ago to store darkness. Before the spirit tree and before us, there was nothing but darkness… It covered the planet. Then, there was a seed. The spirit tree's seed. The light from this seed could never be absorbed by the darkness, so it thrived. It grew to become the tree, and made a barrier of light, that would protect any life in it from the darkness. We learned to gather light and traveled far with it, and created the _Vault_ , to banish all the darkness. It became corporeal, and in its most vile form down there… we should have destroyed it long ago, instead of storing it inside of the planet." She said, quietly.

"Well, what made the seed?" I asked, tilting my head.

"I don't know… nobody knows." She said. A scream emanates from below, catching my attention. I look down and see a black figure on all fours, running through the center of the Spirit Tree's domain. Lovec is running closely behind it.

"Oh no." Sein says. I jump off and stomp downwards, accelerating towards the ground. I hit the ground as the creature is close to me, causing the shockwave to knock them off their feet.

Suddenly Zander comes from the east entrance of the area, and runs towards the creature, who is getting back up. The wraith targets a young spirit, and lunges toward them. The spirit falls backwards and throw their hands up to protect themselves, and Zander tackles them from midair, pinning their arms and legs down. He struggles to keep them down, but they look a lot stronger than him, and they are getting free. I panic and run towards him.

"NO, stay back, I've got this!" He shouts. Zander moves his arms out of the way, and flips the wraith over, putting them into a choke hold. The creature prepares a bash, and Zander notices, immediately wrapping his legs around theirs. After struggling for a couple minutes, the wraith attempts to escape from his grip, gasping for air, and passes out. Zander pushes the wraith off his body and begins breathing heavy.

"Zander! Are you ok? Did it hurt you?" I ask. "Yeah, I'm fine… just tired out." He says, sitting himself up. The small spirit runs up to Zander and hugs him, immediately running off to play with his friends. Lovec grabs the wraith by the ears and drags them into the cave under the spirit tree.

"Where is she taking it?" I ask. "I'm tying it up, so when it comes to I can see if it talks or not." She said, struggling to drag the large creature. Mark came through the south gate, looking around.

"I heard the screams, what happened?" He shouted. "A wraith attacked us, almost killed someone." I said. Mark saw Lovec dragging the creature, and followed her into the cave.

"I guess we follow." I say, shrugging. Zander pushes himself up and follows me into the cave, seeing Lovec tie them up with wire made of Kharatic Steel. After winding the wire around their arms, legs, and chest multiple times, she sticks pronged nails bound to the wire into the wall, keeping the dark spirit bound to the wall of the cave. I slouch up against a wall opposite to it, and slide to the ground, rubbing my sore ankles. Jumping from the top of the tree took a serious toll on my legs. Shouldn't have stomped that hard. Zander sits down next to me and leans against the wall, along with Lovec, who is breathing heavily from dragging the large creature.

"I uh… I'm gonna go to Swallow Nest… see you guys later." Mark says, and leaves the cave. I lean my head back against the rocky wall and close my eyes, and slowly falling asleep.

Raspy laughter fills the cave, sounding like rustling leaves. My eyes pop open, and I immediately see the dark spirit staring at me with magma orange eyes. "Hehehehe… you look absolutely DELICIOUS." He growled, running his tongue across his sharp yellow teeth. A chill shoots up my spine and I stand up, trying to back away, but I'm already against the wall.

"Aww… are you scared?" He asked. "Wha- no! I'm not… I-I'm not scared of you!" I stutter. "Hahaha… I can smell it… I can feel it… You're afraid of me… of what I can do." He giggled. My heart begins racing, and my chest bleeds with fear.

"What were you doing at the Tree?!" I shout. Zander begins stirring. "To kill you… to kill your kind." He replied.

"Why?" I ask, tilting my head. He looked down and laughed as if I had said the funniest joke he had ever heard.

"I was hungry. You spirits are awfully tasty, the meat tastes wonderful…" He said, licking his lips. Zander pushed himself up and walked to the dark spirit, thrusting his hand to their throat, slamming their head into the wall.

"Oh, you're gonna choke me? How intimidating. Get your filthy hands off of me!" He shouted, biting at Zander. He pulled his hand back and stared intently at him.

"You realize I can't die, right? Trust me, I've tried. I will just come back, resurrected in the vault. Cliff diving can be fun sometimes." The spirit said. Lovec stood up and pulled her sword out, placing the narrow tip in the center of his chest.

"Want me to test that theory?" She asked. He gave Lovec a patient smile. "Go ahead." He said. Lovec pushed the sword into his chest, coming out of his back and hitting the wall. He laughed and stared into her eyes.

"Ouch." He said sarcastically. Lovec pulled her sword out and a dark liquid poured from his wound, which closed up after a couple seconds. "Convinced?" He asked. Lovec backed up to the wall and leaned against it, wiping the black residue off her blade.

"So who are you?" I ask. He laughs again. "If you're referring to my name, I don't have one anymore, becoming a wraith has torn the memory of who I am… but I have been called many names… creature, monster, demon… I choose to go by _Angst_ … it just fits." He says, grinning.

"You're named after a dark emotion? How cliché." Zander said. The creature looked up at him and scoffed.

"At least it isn't Zander." He said. Zander looked at the ceiling and walked away. "I'm done talking to you, we're getting nowhere." He said. I ran after him and followed close behind.

"See you guys later! I can't wait 'till our next chat!" The dark spirit shouted. "Am I the only one who feels like he wants to be here?" I ask.

"No… I feel like he's up to something." Lovec said, looking back. We left the cave, and began walking towards Swallows Nest.

"You know what… I'm actually gonna take a walk. See you guys tonight." Zander said.

"Alright, see ya." Lovec said, waving her hand. I turned and saw him walking towards the west spirit gate, which leads to the Misty Woods, and other dangerous places. His hands were in his pockets and he was looking at the ground. He only ever walked through there if he needed to be alone or if he needed to think. I'm worried as to what that could be. I hope he's feeling ok.


	14. Threat

CHAPTER 14

THREAT

Zander

I stare into the pit below Sorrows Pass, and next to the Misty Woods. I come here to think a lot, to clear my head and sometimes to fight internal demons. Being in Nibel has changed my life in a lot of good ways. But at night, I think about my life at home. I miss my mom, my friends my family, my home. I never liked Earth, but I liked some of the people there. To them, I disappeared without a trace, kidnapped or killed, never to be found again. To me, I left in search of a better life, which I found here. I get so upset when I put myself in my family's shoes, I feel like I betrayed them, and left because I hated it there. I never regret coming here, but to be honest… I kind of miss Earth.

"Finally…" A raspy voice speaks. I don't fully turn around before I am tackled to the ground, and a black knife is placed on my throat.

"Where is he!?" The dark spirit shouted. I knew he was speaking about Angst, but I couldn't tell him. "I-I don't know." I lied. He put pressure on the blade, beginning to break my skin.

"You're lying, I can see it… now tell me where he is before I cut your throat!" He growled. I didn't know what to do. One movement and my lungs would begin filling with blood, and I would die.

"I'm waiting!" He shouted impatiently. I brought my legs up and placed them on his chest, bashing him off the edge of the cliff. He up righted himself in midair and shot a tentacle from his arm, lodging in the cliff. I push myself up and sprint away.

"GET BACK HERE!" The spirit shouted, lunging at me. I ducked and allowed him to pass over me. He landed on the ground in front of me and whipped around, showing his face warped by anger and hatred. His knife disappeared and a strange scissor weapon took its place, with a wire and hook attached to the hilt of it.

He grabbed the wire and begun swinging the hook around. I've never seen this type of weapon before, but he looks like he knows exactly how to use it. He swung the hook at me, wrapping it around my leg and lodging it in my skin, tripping me, and he jams the blade into the ground keeping me in place. He slowly walks towards me, brandishing a knife.

"You'd better start talking quick." He said, flipping the blade repeatedly. A faint light glows from within the cave.

"Zander? Where are you?" Ori says from a distance. The wraith stops walking, and he turns around. He turns back to me, smiling.

"Oh? Your friend is coming? You'd better tell me where Angst is, or I'll rip his throat out." He growled, licking his lips.

"Ori! Stay back, there's something here!" I shout. He appears from the cave, and immediately sees the dark spirit. He steps back, and the dark spirit jumps at him, tackling him to the ground.

"ZANDER!" Ori screams, pushing on their chest. "Hehehehe… what's wrong?" He asks. I begin pulling the hook out of my leg, pain shooting through my body. Ori begins struggling, and the wraith digs his claws into Ori's arms.

"Hold still, this won't hurt." He says, sliding his tongue across Ori's face. I grimace from the pain, and bite my lip. I rip the hook out of my leg and point my grapple hook at the wraith, firing it at the back of his head, and pulling him off of Ori. The dark spirit screams in pain as I hold them down and wrap the wire around their neck, then throwing them off the ledge. After a couple seconds of falling, I put max tension on the wire, instantly stopping the slack. I look over the edge and see the Wraith dangling by the wire below, lifeless. I run to Ori, who is pushing himself up, shaking.

"Ah… Zander...?" Ori whimpers, looking down. I look at his arms and see a black liquid oozing from the wounds. "What is this?" He asks, poking it.

"I'm not sure." I reply, staring at the bubbling gore. He wipes the ooze from his wounds and reveals black skin.

"Hnngh, we don't have time to find a spirit well… I have to dig this out." He said.

"Hold on." I said, pulling the hook back up. After pulling the wire from the wraith's head, I cleaned it off, handing the hook to Ori. He bit down on his lower lip and hesitantly stuck the tip under his skin, wincing as it entered. After pushing it in an inch or so, he proceeded to work around the edges of the black splotches, cutting them out. After digging both of them out, they were replaced by little holes in his skin. He fell back and created a soul link, healing the two wounds slowly. After a minute, the wounds are replaced with fresh scars.

"We need to get back to the tree, we need to report what has happened." Ori says, sitting himself up. The sky flickers bluish white, and turns to a sickly black color… something is very wrong. Ori looks at me, and gets up, sprinting into the cave. I push myself up and follow him, bashing off of lantern after lantern, accelerating through the cave.

As we approached the tree, sounds of terror became audible. We quickened our already fast pace and burst through the door, immediately met by a war ground of light and dark spirits. The spirits of light could do nothing but run, and the dark spirits were all armed with unique weapons and claws that could cut and flay. Flashes of light approached us and Lovec appeared in front of us, holding her sword with a backwards grip.

"There's too many of them! I don't think we can make it!" She shouted, and jumped back into battle. I knew why they were here. They were after Angst, we have to release him. I ran and bashed off of a wraith, soaring over the bloody battle. Sounds of screaming spirits rang from all around, the only way to save them was to give the wraiths what they wanted. I reached the cave entrance and slid down the small hill, reaching Angst and untying him.

"Forgiven me already?" He asks. "Shut up! You know why I'm doing this." I shout, untangling the wires.

"You know, I didn't anticipate them doing this. But I guess something brought them to do so." He said, staring at me. I untangled the last wire and escorted him out. As soon as I left the cave, the wraiths stopped their attack, staring at me. I pushed Angst towards the other wraiths and he looked back at me, rubbing his sore wrists.

"I can't promise that we won't be back… it's not that we hate you, and don't get me wrong, we do, but two opposing forces always meet at some point… yin and yang, as your people call it" Angst said. He turned around and walked out of the area, towards the vault and the other Wraiths followed. I look around the sanctuary, spirits lie on the ground, injured or borderline lifeless. Black teeth marks line some of the spirits bodies, and other spirits lay dead. At this moment I knew we would not be able to survive another attack by them.

"Ori, get Mark and try to find some supplies, we're going on a trip." I say. "A trip? Where to?" Ori asks.

"We're going to the other regions, we need all the help we can get… we are going to rid this world of the darkness." I reply.


	15. Journey

CHAPTER 15

JOURNEY

Ori

"Zander… I'm not equipped to take this long journey with you guys!" Mark complained. We climb over a large fallen tree, and Zander helps Mark up.

"Why did you take me? I would love have just stayed with Naru, gathering fruit and building stuff, but I'm here with you instead." Mark whined. Zander flashed a scowl at him.

"Ok fine… But will you at least explain to me why I'm here?" Mark asks, panting.

"Well… up until now, I've never actually seen any of these other spirits, but I know they exist because I see traces of them. So I have no idea how they will react, but I have to keep in mind that they may not be as nice as the spirits in Nibel… An environment really reflects what kind of mindset you have." Zander replies.

"Well, where is our first visit?" Mark asks. Zander moves the branch on a small tree, and reveals the desert from before. Mark nearly faints.

"Oh, well great. A scolding hot desert, and GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE. Please tell me you brought water." Mark asked. Zander pulled a couple canteens of water out of his bag.

"Ori and I don't need water as much, since the light takes up most of our bodies, so most of it is for you." Zander said. "Ok… how far are we from the center?" Mark asks. Zander and I exchange looks.

"We have no idea… we've never gone into another region, it's always been in or around Nibel." Zander said.

"Well damn it, Zander, not only did you drag me out here, but you have no idea where the higher power of this region is." Mark said.

"Hey, the only reason I dragged you out here, was because Nibel, and possibly the entire world will be consumed by darkness if we don't." Zander said. For the past couple minutes, I've been standing in between Zander and Mark who have been arguing and exchanging statements, and I'm just sitting here… staring at the desert… bored.

"Can we go please?" I whine. They stop everything and look down at me.

"Yes, we should get going." Zander said. Mark scoffed and crossed his arms. Zander walked through the underbrush and hesitantly set his foot onto the sand, finally breaking the distance we have walked before. I stepped on the sand after him, and my foot sunk a bit into it.

"Zander, my feet are too skinny to be able to stand on this, I'll just sink." I say, stepping off the sand. He turned around and lowered his hand for me to grab. I took hold of his hand and he lifted me onto his shoulders, as Naru used to do. It is always really cool being on someone else's shoulders, seeing the world at a new angle. A zipping noise came from behind us, and Lovec flashed out of the dense woods.

"Lovec? What are you doing here?" I ask. She was bent over, breathing heavily.

"What do you mean…? I uh… I came to help you." Lovec said, gasping for air. "But you're supposed to be at the tree." Zander said.

"Really? I blinked the whole way here, and this is what I get?" Lovec asked.

"Well… I… uh… fine, come on." Zander said. Lovec smiled. "Great, but… I hate sand, so someone is gonna have to carry me." Lovec said, slowly looking at Mark.

"Fine." Mark said, grabbing Lovecs hands and lifting her onto his shoulders.

"Is this what it's like being tall? This is awesome!" Lovec exclaimed. The sunstone was clearly visible from here, despite us being hundreds of miles from Sorrow Pass. In the distance ahead of us, a stone structure was seen, and a light flashed every couple seconds on top of it. Must be the center of the desert. The sand around us makes a tick-tacking sound, like the sound of something running quickly around us. The sound approaches us, and I am pulled off Zander's shoulders.

"HEY, LET ME GO!" I shout. Zander turns around and sees me being held by something invisible. A figure begins fading in and I see the arms of something my size, and it has me in a master lock, holding their arms below mine and putting their hands behind my head, locking my arms in an outward position. Lovec rolls off Mark's back and pulls out their sword. The creature puts their arm around my neck and pulls out a small crossbow, pointing it at them. Why does everyone except the Forest Spirits have weapons?

"Who are you, and why are you trespassing on our land?" The creature says. They are completely covered in sand colored armor and clothing, with a helmet covering their face, but they are my size.

"Are you another wraith?" Zander asks, with hands up.

"A wraith? No, I am a spirit guardian of this desert, who are you?" They ask. I look at Mark, who is standing back, with their hands up.

"He and I are both humans from Earth, we came here through the spirit portal, and they are spirits… we are from Nibel." Zander says. The spirit lowers their weapon.

"Nibel? My, you must be truly desperate for something if you are coming out here. What do you want?" They say. Zander lowers his hands.

"The vault is open, and a darkness threatens Nibel, and quite possibly the world." Zander says. The spirit drops their weapon and slowly removes their helmet, revealing the glowing golden skin of a desert spirit.

"Th… the vault? But that means… oh no… Come with me, now!" They shout, putting their helmet on, letting go of me and running to the stone structure. Mark and Zander exchange looks, and they grab Lovec and I, lifting them onto their backs and running close behind the spirit.

"Wait, what's your name?" Zander asks. "My name is Saree." The spirit replied.

They ran for a couple minutes before stopping at the foot of the stone building. Mark collapsed on the ground and Lovec jumped off before he hit the ground. I jumped off Zander's back and he pulled a canteen out of my bag and handed it to him, who drank half the bottle before handing it back. Zander took it and dropped it back into the bag. We have 5 canteens full of water, and one half filled one, enough to last us the trip around.

"Ok, once we enter you must stay silent, I'll do all the talking." Saree said. We entered the large building and cold air immediately fell on us, making it much more comfortable inside than outside. Ahead of us, an old spirit sat on a stone chair, holding a steel staff, similar to Naji's.

"Qadim, I have returned with news." Saree said. The old spirit looked up at us, showing us his black eyes, with no white pupils. He was blind.

"Ah, Saree… what news do you come with?" The old spirit asks. "Well, I have 4 beings from Nibel, saying that the vault has been opened, and that darkness is coming." Saree said. Qadim's expression changed, almost like he had remembered something.

"Ah… darkness… I remember when that vault was first closed, a few lifetimes ago… the key to the entrance was destroyed, so how was it opened?" He asked. Saree looked at us.

"How was it opened?" He asked. I looked at Zander and then looked at Saree, who should talk first?

"I did… I found a way to open it, but I had no idea it contained the darkness." Zander said. Saree did a double take between me and Qadim.

"Well, at least you're honest… How about this, if you help me with something, I will offer you help." Qadim said. "Alright, what do you need?" I ask.

"North of here is a small camp, a group of spirits are living there. Recently, all communication has stopped and I fear the worst has happened. Please go there and check to see if they're ok… Saree will go with you." Qadim said.

"Wait, what?" Saree asked. "Yep, you heard me. You brought them here, you seemed obligated to help, so you're going with them." Qadim said. Saree looked at the ceiling and sighed loudly.

"Oh, don't pout, it's for their safety." Qadim said, chuckling.

"Fine, come on." Saree mumbled, walking out the front door with his hands in his pockets. We followed him out and he began walking left. I take Ori's hand and lift him onto my shoulders, following closely behind Saree.

"I already miss Nibel… it's too hot here." Ori whispered, resting his chin on my head.

"I do too… but we'll be back soon, don't worry." I reply, smiling. But if all communication from this village has ceased… then something must be terribly wrong.


	16. Worst Case Scenario

CHAPTER 16

WORSE CASE SCENARIO

Zander

"I spy something… yellow." Ori says, looking around.

"Sand." Lovec replies with a yawn

"Yeah... this isn't fun, Zander."

"Hey, if there were more things to look at, it would be more fun." I reply crankily. We've been walking for hours in this unbearably hot desert, Ori and Lovec have become impatient children, Mark looks like he's going to pass out, and it's getting dark. "How much longer?" I ask Saree.

"Not long. It should be right over this sand dune." He says. Reaching the top of the sand dune, we finally have a village in our sights. Ori and Lovec smile and look at eachother and Mark collapses to the ground.

"OH THANK GOD, FINALLY!" Mark yells with his arms extended to the sky. He slides down the hill with us not far behind. Once we reach the bottom, Saree's ears twitch and his eyes dilate. There is a sudden look of disturbance in his eyes. I walk over to him and tap on his shoulder

"Are you ok, Saree?" I ask.

"No… something's wrong. Very, very wrong," He says gravely. He runs down the hill past Mark and comes to a stop in the center of the village. We rush after him and stop behind him, staring at the horrors that lie before us. Bodies of spirits strewn throughout the village, some half buried in sand. Saree rushes to a body and digs down a bit into the sand and looks at one spirit's face, which is covered in a corrosive black tar. He gasps and falls to his knees, his head buried in his hands, breaking down crying. Mark tries to say something but I hold my arm out to block him, shaking my head. We stand silently while Saree mourns the deaths of his friends. Until a silhouette moves behind a house.

"Wait a sec…" I say. I extend my hand towards the house and shoot my grappling hook, flinging myself over there. Upon landing, I grab a spirit who had a terrified expression on their face and return to the others.

"No, let me go! HELP!" They shout desparately, struggling in my grasp. I stroke the back of its head and make a hushing sound, like a mother would to her child.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you, little guy. Promise." I say to them with a grin. They calm down and nod their head.

"What happened?" I asked the young spirit. They began sniffling and wimpering.

"The scary monsters came… they killed everyone... I escaped..." they said. I looked at their body, inspecting the damage that the wraiths had done. Most of their body was covered in black skin, claw marks littered their chest, black liquid oozing out of the deep gashes. I realize that not only is the darkness adapting to take over the light, but it appears to have a vampire-like effect. I quickly turn my head to Saree.

"Saree, are there any spirit wells around?" I ask. He shakes his head in disbelief.

"The spirit tree's roots don't extend this far. The closest one to here just barely touches the desert. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do for him." He says in sorrow. "The only thing we can do is leave him and hope he starves before he can kill anyone." Suddenly, a horrifying thought comes to my mind,

"No… there is another option." I darkly mumble. Saree looked at my confused before realizing what I'm implying. His eyes widen in shock and he shakes his head.

"What? N-no! You can't mean..." He studders.

"Saree, I'm sorry. There's no other choice."

"No!"

"The transformation is extremely painful. We can't just leave him to become one of those things… you know that." I say. He stares at me and then looks at the child. He takes a deep breath.

"I understand... I wish there was another way. Please, make it quick and painless," He says. Ori looks at him in confusion, then at Lovec, then at me.

"Wait, what's he doing? Saree, what is he doing?" He asks. I pick up the child and carry him away and over a sand dune.

"Zander? What is happening?! Zander!" Ori shouts and tries running after me. Mark holds him back as I disappear over the hill. Once I get out of sight, I sit down on a rock and pull out the hook from my grappling hook, sliding my fingers across the wire, using my light to sharpen it to a fine edge. This darkness is plaguing the world, and we are the only ones making an effort to stop it. I have no choice, I have to do this. I put the spirit's face in my chest, holding him close. "I am so sorry..." They begin whimpering as the darkness continues to spread across his fragile body.

"Hey… d-don't cry… I… I… I'll make it better…" I begin tearing up. Never in my life have I imagined that I would be doing something like this.

"I am so sorry, little guy. Don't worry... it's all going to be over before you know it" I say with as much positivity as I can, closing my eyes. "I promise...," Tears stream down my face as I lift the wire in front of his neck and bend it around, grabbing the other wires to make a ring. One tug is all it takes to save this young spirit from becoming a bloodthirsty monster. I close my eyes and with a heavy sigh, I yank the wire. After a blinding flash of light, the spirit in my arms is gone.


	17. Lesson in Friendship

CHAPTER 17

LESSON IN FRIENDSHIP

Ori

When he went over that hill, a bit of himself died inside. He would do anything in his power to keep me and the world safe, even killing a person. But when he had to kill that spirit just to save them, he never acted quite the same. I sat on Mark's shoulders, looking back periodically to see if he had that chipper mood and bright personality back, but he only had that look on his face. How can I describe his face? He looked… empty. Lovec walked with him the whole time while Saree walked ahead, trying not to look at Zander. Not because he was afraid, but because he knew it took a lot to do what he did. I don't hate him for what he did, but I am sad. He knew that they would have suffered and they probably didn't want to become a monster, so he did what he had to do to prevent them from suffering eternal misery. We got back to the stone building and Qadim immediately felt the dread from Zander.

"What happened?" He asked. Saree walked up to the stone platform and approached Qadim.

"Everyone was… dead. The wraiths were the ones who attacked, but we found a survivor. A child, but they were inflicted by the darkness. It seems to have evolved to take over light. They were moments from turning, so Zander did what he had to, to prevent him from that terrible fate." Qadim looked at Zander, despite being blind and he looked away from Qadim.

"Listen, Zander… It took a lot to do what you did, but you did it to prevent him from becoming what we all fear. There was nothing anyone could do, so you did what had to be done to keep them and everyone else safe. You did the right thing." Qadim said, trying to reassure him.

"I shouldn't have opened that damn vault, I was just too eager to explore. This whole thing is all my fault. It was my fault those villagers were slaughtered. It's my fault that spirit was inflicted. It's my fault the darkness evolved. I want to go home..." Zander said before walking out the door. I tried to follow him, but Saree stopped me.

"He needs to be alone." He said. I nodded sadly and looked back at Qadim.

"I'll gather as many spirits to guard Nibel. We can't let the wraiths settle there. I wish you luck on your journey. We are putting our fate in your hands." Qadim said.

"Thank you for this, Qadim. We won't forget all you've done for us." Lovec said with gratitude. I took this opportunity to slip away and run out the door to catch up to Zander.

"Wait! Zander!" I called after him. He stopped and turned around to look at me. His eyes were red and his face wet with tears.

"Ori? Why are you following me?" He asked, wiping his nose with a stuffy sniff.

"What are you talking about? Ever since we first met, we've been inseparable. Even when you returned to Earth, I worked every day to get the Spirit Portal up and running so I could find you. And it worked! Lovec and I went through and we were reunited. Zander, you're the third creature I've met since I was born and we've shared so many adventures together. We saved Nibel, we traveled Earth, we rescued those spirits from those "scientists", and we explored beyond Nibel. We had each other's back through thick and thin. So whether you like it or not, Zander, I'm going with you wherever you go and you can't do anything about it." I said him, looking him directly in the eyes, starting to tear up myself. Through teary eyes, he smiled and nodded.

"You're right, Ori" he said. "I just feel so terrible for what I did, even though I knew it had to be done. I couldn't allow that spirit to become a wraith. It would slaughter so many spirits and creatures without remorse against its own will. It's a horrible way to live..." Zander started to tear up again. I walked closer and hugged his waist, burying my face into his side.

"It's okay, Zander. I understand. Just know that none of us blame you for what you did. Now, why don't we rejoin the others?" I said with an encouraging grin. He nodded and we walked back to the group.

A few days passed and we finally created our army of desert spirits. "Alright!" Saree shouted. "We head for Nibel!" The desert spirits shouted in harmony and we left for Nibel. After a few hours of walking, we crossed the border into Nibel and gathered at the base of the Spirit Tree, thankfully still intact with no signs of wraith activity.

"Wow, that's the biggest tree I've ever seen!" A spirit remarks in awe.

"Well, as far as I know, that's as big as it gets." Lovec said. The surviving Forest Spirits came from underneath the roots of the Tree and began gathering around us. They walked around, admiring the clothing and armor on the golden skinned spirits.

"We are gathered here in Nibel to protect it from the greatest threat Nibel has faced in generations: The wraiths. They have escaped the vault and slaughtered villages. They are spirits of darkness who have evolved to be able to take over the light and convert other spirits to their ranks. Nibel has the highest amount of light in the world and we must help defend it from this threat!" Saree shouted, the desert spirits shouting back.

"DEFEND NIBEL!" One shouted.

"DEFEND NIBEL!" Everyone else echoed. The desert spirits broke up and chatted with each other and some forest spirits. In various spots in the meadow. Saree walked up to me and cleared his throat.

"So where will we be staying?" Saree asks, looking around at the flowers and trees.

"Well… here. There aren't a lot of overhangs to be under and it doesn't rain much here anyway. Besides, outside is much prettier." I say. Saree looks around at everything, examining the landscape. Trees for miles and lots of nooks and crannies to explore.

"This place DOES look nice." He says.

"Make yourself at home." I smiled at him before turning away to approach Zander who is sitting on the Spirit Well in the center of the area.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" I ask. He looks over and takes a deep breath. "I've been better, but I think I'll be okay." He says. I sit down with him and watch the desert spirits mingle with forest spirits. Two similar but different races coming together as equals... strange, but beautiful.

"I should discuss this with Sein. She has lived longer than all of us, maybe even longer than the tree itself. Maybe she has some information that we could use." Zander suggests. I nod in agreement.

"Sounds like a good plan, Zander. This is all so scary... I never knew such a dark force existed under us all this time." I say with a shudder.

"I doubt anyone even knew about it… it was locked away so nobody could know of its existence and go looking for it," He said, approaching the base of the Spirit Tree .

"Be careful, it's a long drop!" I shout. He turned and laughed.

"Careful? Ha! Since when have I ever been careful?" He asked with a laugh and began climbing the tree.


	18. It Started With A Rumor

CHAPTER 18

IT STARTED WITH A RUMOR

Zander

I finally reach the top and collapse in front of the cage where Sein floats in a heavy breathing heap. "Zander? What brings you atop the Spirit Tree?" Sein asked. I push myself up with an exhausted grunt and lean against one of the gigantic branches. I spent over an hour climbing up the nearly 200 story tall glowing tree and I feel like I'm about to pass out. I take a deep breath and explain myself.

"I came here to ask some questions. It's urgent." I pant.

"Well then. Ask away, Zander." She replies. I spend a moment gathering my thoughts.

"Who… _What_ are wraiths?" I ask. She sits silently for a moment.

"Wraiths are spirits like Ori and Lovec, however, these spirits are spawn of darkness and evil. Wraiths are extremely intelligent spirits, masters of surprise, and strike from the dark. Always going for tendons and weak points, they exhibit strong and strange abilities. They have the power to summon weapons of darkness, but they exist in unimaginable pain," She explained. "Some spirits choose this path, rejecting our light, while others are changed against their will by a disease-like effect from an injury by a wraith such as a bite or scratch. One of the cruelest ways to do turn a spirit is to force the spirit to drink the darkness in the vault." She says. My heart begins to bleed with fear… Why am I afraid?

"They'll take any chance they can get to turn add us to their ranks, but when they're hungry… let's just say they play with their food." She says grimly. A shiver shoots up my spine.

"Wraiths are sadistic, merciless creatures. Wraiths are a threat to this world, more so than Kuro could ever have hoped to be. Zander, never get caught alone with a wraith for there is no escape."

"Is there any way to kill them?"

"Some of them will die from conventional means like starvation, but others have the ability to regenerate. To kill those, you have to strike them before they get the chance to regenerate. However, there are some that require… well I shouldn't get into that." She says.

"What? Get into what?" I ask. "Please, I need to know in order to defeat this threat."

"Well, there is a legendary weapon that can vanquish the darkness. The problem is, nobody knows what it looks like or how it works." She sighed.

"So I need to find a weapon that may or may not exist to defeat them?" I ask.

"Yeah, a legend." She replies. Well great. The only thing that can kill Angst or most Wraiths is a mythical weapon that may or may not exist, but if it's something that could kill him, it's a risk worth taking.

"Alright, if I were to look for it, where would I start?" I ask. She was silent for a moment.

"Well, there was a spirit who tried looking for it… it was a sort of obsession of his. He currently resides in Sorrow Pass as he believed it was somewhere in that area." She said. Well great, not only is this weapon a myth, now I have to go to Sorrow Pass: the most dangerous area in Nibel, covered in thorns, slime spitting frog things, and filled with ash and toxic air. Tt's almost impossible to reach, being at the very top of the largest cave in Nibel. I exhale a heavy sigh.

"Alright, then. I'll be on my way." I say.

"Very well. Please, do come again if you desire more information." Sein said.

"I would if there were some stairs or something." I say, stepping near the edge to climb down.

"Hey, Zander, I heard what happened... Just know that you made the right choice for leaving him would have turned out terribly for both you and them." Sein said. I stopped for a moment and then quickened my pace down the trunk of the tree.

Took forever, but I finally reach the bottom and see Ori talking to one of the Desert Spirits. After I jump and land with a thud, Ori turns and looks at me.

"Hey Zander, did you find what you need?" He asks. I sit next to him with a grunt, clearly very tired from the climbing. I stretch my arms and back before sighing again, dreading the journey to Sorrow Pass. "I need to go to Sorrow Pass." I say. He tilts his head sideways. "Why is that?" he asks.

"There's a Spirit living there who can probably help us get a weapon that can defeat the wraiths, and possibly Angst." I say. He shifts the way he sits and looks at Mount Horu in the distance.

"I'll go with you." He volunteered. I shake my head, pretty sure the top of Sorrow Pass would be a place he never wanted to visit again.

"Ori, you don't have to go if you don't have to. I know being up there is uncomfortable for you." I say.

"No, it's fine. I'm over it." He said, smiling.

"Are you sure? Because I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to. This is life threatening stuff we're doing, after all." I say.

"Hey, it'll be _me_ keeping _you_ alive out there, tough guy. I promise I'm over all of it."

"Alright, I'll get Lovec and some other spirits to travel with us. I don't want to be defenseless if we encounter any wraiths."

A few hours later, we assembled a small group of spirits and we began walking towards the cavern that leads to Sorrow Pass. As far as we know, the only people who can reach the entrance of Sorrow Pass is Lovec, Ori, and I, so everyone else needs to be helped up, which took a little while. After we all got up to the cavern, we began the process of climbing the wall upwards. Eventually, we reached Sorrow Pass and looked around for a bit, making sure nothing is going to jump out at us.

"See anything that may be dangerous?" I shout to Lovec.

"Not yet." She says, blinking further into the cave. After a few seconds of flashes and zipping sounds, she reappears at the mouth of the cave. "I didn't see much, just thorns and such. Shouldn't be too much of a problem." She says. We continue climbing up and pulling desert spirits up into the cave, and after about 30 minutes all the spirits were hoisted up to the main platform in the center of Sorrow Pass.

"So, where do we start looking?" Ori asks.

"I… really haven't thought that far yet. Sein says he is here, but she didn't say where. This whole place is practically a maze… Better start looking, I guess." I say with a shrug. Saree looks around the area with an unsure expression.

"This place looks extremely hostile… How do you survive here?" He asks, baffled.

"Well it's fairly easy, really. All you gotta do is stay away from the spikey dangerous stuff, and you'll be fine." Ori says with a smug smile.

"Well you didn't have to dumb it down for me..." Saree murmured.

"Alright, how about we split up and look around? I'll take Ori and Lovec, and Saree can take the desert spirits. We have to find this guy, and if you want, the desert spirits can split up into separate parties. If you find anything, meet back here in an hour." I say. We then split up and began searching for the spirit.

"Ugh... We don't even know this guy's name or what he looks like. This is gonna be hard..." I complain. Ori laughs a bit and Lovec suddenly freezes, staring into the distance.

"Do you guys see that?" Lovec asked, pointing at dark figure ahead. We moved closer and saw that it was a wraith.

"Well then, first one of the day. I'll take care of that monster." Lovec said, Blinking behind them and putting them into a master lock.

"Hey! Let me go!" he shouted, squirming in her grasp. Ori and I ran over to the wraith and when he opened his eyes and looked at us, he started yelling again.

"Ahh! Please don't hurt me!" He begged.

"What are you doing here?" I growled. He winced as Lovec tightened her grip and pulled out her sword.

"I don't know, I don't know! I was just wandering around. That's what I do! I swear! I have nowhere to go, please don't hurt me!" He begged, his voice getting higher pitched.

"Are you here to attack us?" Ori asked, approaching the wraith.

"Why would I do that? I don't even know you. Heck, I didn't even know you were going to be here!" He said, continuing to squirm. Ori looked at me, and shrugged.

"You aren't like the other wraiths we encountered..." I say, confused.

"Ha! Of course not! I wouldn't be caught dead with those psychopaths!" He said, suddenly laughing. Lovec loosened her grip a bit, easing up before lowering her sword.

"Well, what are you?" Lovec asks. He looks at Lovec and drops his head.

"Well, technically I am a wraith, but I hate how they live… so much killing, so much hatred… I just want to be who I used to be and not a monster, but that's kinda hard to do because all of my friends scream and run at the sight of me." He sighed.

"Well, then. Can you tell us your name?" Ori asks. The wraith tilts his head and looks up.

"Uhh… It's been so long since I heard my name. It's all so blurry... I think it was something like Azi or Atmo... maybe Azti?" He said, trying to remember. Suddenly, Ori's face lit up.

"Atsu?" Ori asks. The wraith looks up and smiles.

"Yeah, that's it! My name is Atsu!" He exclaims.

"Wow! You made Atsu's Torch in the Misty Woods! You disappeared a long time ago." Ori said, a bit excited. Lovec looks at Ori and I and loosens her grip on Atsu a bit more.

"Should I let him go?" Lovec asks.

"Yeah, he seems harmless enough." I reply and Ori nods his head. Lovec let him go and gave him a light shove, sheathing her sword.

"Atsu, what happened to you?" Ori asks, tilting his head.

"Um... I don't exactly remember. When I became a wraith, I forgot a lot of things… I forgot how I turned, I forgot my name, and a lot of other things. I'm sorry if I can't give you much information." Atsu says, looking a bit down.

"Don't worry about it. Just to be safe, how much do you want to kill us?" Lovec asks.

"Well, I do have this urge to attack you, but it isn't hard to ignore it. I've managed to hold back my natural wraith instincts for years now. At this point, I'm basically just a spirit with a skin condition." Atsu said, gesturing to his black skin.

"So uh, do you know happen to know about a spirit that lives up here? Sein told us we need to find a spirit who has been searching for something." Ori asks. Atsu leans back and looks at the ceiling of the cave again.

"Hmm… Yeah, I think I know who you're talking about, but let me warn you. This guy is mad. He's always babbling about something called _The Orb_ or something. I guess being alone can do a number on your sanity." Atsu said. The Orb? Sounds like we're onto something.

"Interesting... Do you think you could you take us to him, Atsu?" I ask.

"I guess I can. What's funny is that he's so insane, he doesn't even realize I'm a wraith so he can talk to me without running away." Atsu laughed.

"That's pretty funny. Anyway, well we have to meet up with a spirit named Saree. I'll explain this whole 'friendly wraith' situation to him." I say. We begin walking back and Atsu's expression changes.

"Hey um… you haven't happened to have gone been by the Misty Woods have you? My sister, Tatsu, disappeared in there a while ago and I wanted to know if you had seen her." Atsu asked nervously. My stomach sank, I know what he is talking about… Tatsu used to climb these mountains, until she fell into the Woods below, when Atsu's torch went out… she died and because the ancestral tree in the woods. Ori looked at me with an expression I can only describe as guilt.

"Atsu I um… I'm sorry." I say.

"What do you mean? You haven't been there recently?" He asks.

"We were there a while ago… She's in there, but she um... isn't exactly herself anymore." I say, trying not to bring it down too hard.

"What? What do you mean?" He asks worriedly.

"When we were in the Woods, we found an ancestral tree… It was Tatsu's. When we absorbed her light on our journey to restore Nibel from Kuro's attack, we learned how to climb." Ori explained. Atsu stopped walking.

"She was the only spirit I knew who could climb." He mumbled, a tear dripping down his cheek. "Well, I guess it's okay. You two have her light and she would have wanted to get out of that wretched place. So in a way, you guys saved her. Thank you." He said, giving a small smile and started walking again. We finally arrive at the rendezvous point and see Saree waiting for us along with the rest of the party, who immediately notices Atsu.

"Zander! Watch out!" He shouts, pulling a dagger from behind his waist and charging at Atsu. I quickly step in front of Atsu and hold my arms out.

"Saree it's okay! This wraith is friendly, he isn't like the others. This is Atsu, he used to be a spirit in the Misty Woods." I say. Saree looks at him suspiciously and slowly slides his knife back into its holster. Saree and Atsu locked eyes as tension grew. Atsu looked away and Saree went back to the desert spirits.

"Alright! Now that we all know each other, Atsu, can you take us to the spirit?" I ask with a clap of my hands.

"Uh, yeah. Follow me." He said, glancing at Saree. We went down one of the more known paths, to the right of the center area. We passed through a spirit gate and out the side of the mountain, stopping at a cliff. I look over the edge and my stomach churns.

"Eugh... that is a really long fall..." I groan before stepping back. Atsu grabbed a handhold on the cliff and started climbing the wall above the pit.

"Um, are you sure it's this way?" Lovec asks, a little suspicious.

"Yes, trust me. I've been living here for ages. Just follow me, you should know how to climb!" Atsu said.

"Only Ori and I learned that ability." I corrected.

"Ok great, less people means less confusing introductions, let's go!" Atsu replied. We decided not to argue and began climbing the death defying wall. Up we went, dodging lasers and slime balls, we pass through a thick layer of smoke and ash and are met with a door.

"Alright! Now, before we go in, you need to know that he is… well, pretty crazy. His life is practically consumed by the search of this orb thing, so just introduce yourselves, let him ramble when he does, and don't say anything that might set him off." Atsu advised. He turned and knocked on the door. A few seconds go by and there is no response.

"Hey, are you in there?" Atsu shouts, knocking on the door again. Once again, no response. Atsu tilts his head slightly, and pushes the door open, looking around.

"He's gone... but where did he go?" Atsu said to himself.

"Does anyone else know where he lives?" Ori asked.

"No, only I do, and that's because I have too much spare time and began exploring… He probably went to the Void Swamp to look for that thing." Atsu said.

"What's the Void Swamp?" I ask.

"It's one of the five regions that we know exists in this world. There's the Forest of Nibel, the Desert of Arai, the Swamp of Buvia, the Floating Mountains of Tolin, and the Jungle of Mabeth. When Buvia's light faded, it was consumed by darkness. Everything either died and the spirits became wraiths. Because of this, the Void Swamp is the most dangerous region in the world and nobody dares go there, except this guy. Apparently, a hint to some ' _Orb'_ exists there. This 'O _rb'_ is extremely powerful and important. I have idea why." Atsu explained.

"Well, where's the Swamp?" Ori asks.

"It's north of Nibel, pretty far." Atsu says.

"Should we go there?"

"Well, if you want to have your emotions toyed around with and want to question your very existence, then sure. Go ahead."

"Alright, then. If this guy went there, then we should go, too." I confidently said. Atsu sighed loudly.

"Well, I like having the guy around, so I _guess_ I'll go with you." He said. We walked out and began descending down the wall of death. As we passed through the layer of smoke, we see Saree waiting for us with Lovec.

"Well? What did he say?" Lovec asked.

"He wasn't there. He went to some swamp place." Ori sighed.

"Well, I guess we'll go with you." Saree said.

"No! That's a terrible idea! If anyone should go, it's Ori, Lovec, Zander, and I. It's too dangerous if everyone goes." Atsu said quickly. Saree and the desert spirits nodded. Some looked relieved and others looked disappointed.

"Alright, then," Lovec announced "We leave at dusk!"


	19. Land of Darkness

CHAPTER 19

LAND OF DARKNESS

Ori

Mud caked my legs and stomach as we walked through thick underbrush. The land between Nibel and other regions seemed pretty consistent, thick forest with underbrush, mudpits, and other annoying obstructions. As we trekked the unclaimed land, Lovec's ears began twitching nervously. "Are you ok Lovec? Something wrong?" I ask.

"Yeah, we're approaching something... Something evil.I think it might be the Void Swamp." She said. Zander stopped at a thick wall of vines and branches.

"Well, here we go." He said. He raised his arm, extended the hook on his wrist launcher, and slashed at the wall until a path was cleared. What lay before us was a dense, black swamp with an eerie vibe to it. It's as if something was watching us.. As Atsu said back at Sorrow Pass, the swamp was devoid of light, quite evident as everything before us was consumed by darkness. Dark purple pustules inhabited the trunks of dead trees and spikey plants flourished on the sides of the pathway and in the marshy waters.

"Well… I guess we just… go in." I say. I walk forward, and hesitantly step onto the dark ground. As soon as my foot connects, the land behind me is replaced with more dark land. Everyone else disappears and I'm left all alone. "Zander? Lovec? Where are you!?" I say. My voice sounds miniscule, almost nothing comes out whenever I speak. Horrific whispers and sounds emanate from around me. I whip around trying to find the source of the noises. My eyes begin welling up and I cover my ears to block out the sound, but the terrible noises still find a way into my head. They get louder and louder, sounds of screaming and yelling become audible. I can barely make out the voices of spirits in Nibel. They sound like they're in such excruciating pain, as if they are being burnt alive. I curl up with my face buried in my arms and scream for help, but nothing comes out. Either that or the screaming is drowning out my own. Suddenly I'm picked up, and the dark world disappears and I'm back where I was. I turn my head and see Zander looking at me with a worried expression.

"Ori? What happened?! You just started freaking out! Are you okay?" Zander asks. I lift my arm and wipe the tears from my face. "I don't... I don't know. Zander, it was terrifying! Scary noises, voices everywhere... the screams of my friends back in Nibel..." I stammer, burying my face in his chest. He hugs me and rubs my back, assuring me that everything is fine.

"That's one of the effects of the swampI I think it's a contact thing," Atsu concluded. "Like, you step foot on the ground and you start having vivid and scary hallucinations. I have an idea. Zander can carry Ori and-"

"What about me?" Lovec interrupted. Atsu sighed.

"I was getting to that. I'm not entirely sure what to do you with. You're brave, I'm sure you can deal with it for a bit." Atsu smiled. With an annoyed groan from Lovec, we continued our trek through the evil swamp. Zander pulls me close, comforting me. He takes a deep breath and steps onto the black ground, bracing for lucid hallucinations. However, nothing happens when his shoes connect to the pitch black soil except for the crunch of a stick. Easing up, he takes a few steps further with me tensely gripping his shoulder. "It seems fine so far." Zander says.

"Just try not to touch anything!" Atsu shouts.

I look around as he steps over and around thorns and weeds, seeing the land mangled and warped by darkness sends a chill down my spine. "Geez, this place looks terrible. How did the darkness start spreading?" Zander asked, astonished by how... evil the place looked and felt.

"Wraiths. They never have anything better to do than to ruin others' lives by raiding homes and savagely devouring other spirits." Atsu says grimly, following behind us.

"Hey, jerks! Forgetting something!?" Lovec shouts, still standing at the edge of the woods.

"We don't know if we can bring you, it's just too dangerous to walk in here with bare hooves." Atsu says.

"Well, YOU are walking in it with bare hooves!"

"I'm already a part of the darkness, so the swamp doesn't affect me."

Lovec scoffs and turns around, pulling long, ribbon shaped leaves off of a tree, wrapping it around her hooves. After covering her hooves, she holds her sword sideways and grinds the bark off of a nearby tree, extracting the sap off of the tree. She applied the sap to her makeshift shoes in order to keep them from falling apart.

"Ugh, this better be worth it." She mumbles to herself. "Zander, bring Ori over here." She says. He walked over the small obstructions and set me back down on the green grass. Lovec begins wrapping my hooves and legs with the long, waxy leaves and then spreading the tree sap on them to keep them together. Feeling the sap on my skin is fairly uncomfortable.

"Eww, I don't like the way this feels… it's weird." I whine.

"Well, would you rather suffer nightmarish hallucinations instead?" Lovec asked. I immediately stopped talking. Once she finished, I was left with makeshift shoes extending to my shins.I wonder if this is what it feels like to Zander.

"Alright, here goes nothing." Lovec said, approaching the dark land. She lifts her hoof off the grass, and begins moving it above the dark ground. She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes, and steps firmly on the ground. She slowly opens one eye and looks around. "Oh thank goodness… the shoes work. Alright, onward!" She says, slowly walking forward.

I push myself up and step onto the dark land. The ground feels extremely cold, even though there is a thick layer of leaves and sap covering my feet. I follow closely behind Zander, try my best to pretend that this place doesn't scare me, and obviously my best isn't enough considering I'm shaking intensely and whipping my head back and forth. Every now and then we come across stone and steel structures, with strange engravings on them, similar to the ones seen in _The Vault_ along with half-eaten corpses of spirits. "Well, it's obvious that other wraiths have been here… let's just hope they don't find him before we do." Atsu says. We continue walking, our feet making squishing sounds as they come into contact with the marshy ground. Suddenly, a chill goes down my spine.

" _ **What are you doing?**_ " A raspy voice emanates around me. I look around, and can't see what is talking. Shrugging it off as paranoia playing trick on me, I continue walking.

" _ **Ori, he doesn't love you, all he'll do is hurt you, just run away!**_ " The voice speaks. A mist forms next to me, and a wraith takes its place, looking exactly like me.

"Run from who?" I demand with the best serious face I could muster.

"Did you say something?" Zander asked, looking back at me.

"I'm just…" I looked at the wraith who had his finger over his lips. "I'm just talking to myself, I do that sometimes, helps me get over stressful situations." I lie. He looks at me funny and looks forward again.

" _ **Ori, listen to me. He will leave at the first sign of chaos! He'll abandon you, is that what you want?**_ " The creature insists.

"He does love me, stop lying and leave me alone!" I yell and swipe at him, only to miss as he dodges with extraordinary speed.

 _ **"He's not what he seems! You have to listen!**_ " He yells back. I do my best to ignore him, but my annoyance starts getting the better of me. " _ **He'll hurt you!**_ " I start clenching my fists, getting mad. Zander looks at me, and shrugs it off, assuming that the darkness is just having a minor effect on me. _**"He'll hurt everyone! Don't you understand? I'm trying to help you, please listen to me!"**_ He begs. His lies start working their way into my head. Shaking my head, I speed up and try to lose him. However, he just reappears in front of me. " _ **He'll KILL EVERONE, DO YOU NOT SEE THIS?! Remember that spirit in the desert? He felt nothing when he killed it! That kill marked the beginning of his path down a dark road. Soon, he will become a wraith and betray you all!**_ " He screams. I stare at him in the eye and scream back.

"GO AWAY!" I run at him and try to bash, but he shoves me to the ground.

" _ **You don't know who you're meddling with, Ori! All humans are the same! All they only wish to do is to kill! I'm trying to protect you! PLEASE BELIEVE ME!**_ " He begs. I look at Zander, who breaks conversation with Atsu to look at me in worry. He says something to Atsu, who just shrugs.

" _ **Ori please, I care about you! I want nothing more than for you to be safe! Please run from this monster!**_ " He screams. I sprint and finally manage a Bash, followed up with a Stomp. He vanishes with a puff of smoke.

" _ **You can't run from the truth Ori… I feel sorry knowing you'll learn the hard way.**_ " His voice raps in my mind as the smoke finally disappates. I knew he was lying, but I couldn't help but feel like some of what he said is true. Is he right? What if Zander really had lost his path and plans on deserting me? No, that's crazy. But what if he does? I squint and give myself a slap, only to wince in pain. Stop thinking like this, Ori! Zander loves me... Zander loves me... Zander loves me. But he might not. He killed a spirit so surely he mi—STOP! Zander loves me... He wouldn't do such a thing...

He wouldn't, would he...?


	20. Terrible Memories

CHAPTER 20

TERRIBLE MEMORIES

Zander

Ori was awfully… distant from me today. He stayed away from me as much as possible and he hasn't been sleeping next to me, like he usually would. A crackling blue fire radiates warm rays at my feet. I look up at Ori, who is curled up on the opposite side of the fire. Ori's been acting strange all day, and earlier he was arguing and screaming at nothing, which he's never done before. I look at him, and he looks away from me. I push myself up, having had enough of his behavior and walk around the fire to figure out what's going on. As soon as he sees me approach, he rolls over, facing away. "Hey, did I do something wrong?" I ask, only to be ignored. I walk around to his front and speak again. "Please talk to me, Ori." He curls up tighter to block me out of his vision.

"No you didn't. I just… have you ever considered… hurting me? Or… killing me?" He asks quietly. My heart jumps.

"What?!" I gasp. "No, I'd never! You, Lovec, and Mark are the only friends I have in this world, I'd never do anything like that to you! What went through your mind that made you think of something like that?!" He stays quiet for a moment.

"I just... I just want to be alone right now, Zander. Please." He mumbles before standing up and walking away with his ears down. I sit on the ground and stare into the fire. I've never felt this bad in my life. I've never experienced the feeling of losing a friend before. It hurts.

" _ **Zander…**_ " A female voice whispers. I look to my right and gasp, my eyes wide. It's my mother, staring at me with tears soaking her face, mascara streaming down. " _ **Zander... why did you leave us? Please tell me!**_ " She begs.

"M-Mom, I.. I didn't leave you! I just... left in search for a better life." I reply, my own eyes starting to tear up. I look around at the others to see if they can see her, too, but I don't see anyone. Just my mother.

" _ **Zander, you betrayed your whole family. We are so hurt with you gone! Please, honey, come back to us. Come home!**_ " She sobbed, taking a few steps towards me with her arms stretched outwards.

"No, I can't go back." My voice shakes. "I-I'm sorry, Mom. I just... I just can't!"

" _ **Zander, you WILL come home!**_ " She screams, getting mad.

"I WON'T!" I scream back, tears streaming down my face. Suddenly, I realize the obvious. This isn't my mother. My mother never came with me to Nibel. "You aren't my mother!" I extend the hook on my grappling hook and aim it at the imposter. Her teary eyes widen in fear and she backs up a few steps.

" _ **Z-Zander! W-what are you doing with that? Don't hurt me, please!"**_ She begs, backing up further. I stare at her and take a deep breath before swinging the long wire at her. The end of the hook slices cleanly through her chest and she screams in pain. She brings a hand to the wound and black blood gushes out of the wound. I bring my arm up and slash at her once more, cutting into her skull. She bursts into mists, and leaves me with only the sound of sobbing.

"Zander? What are you doing?" Lovec asked, pushing herself up and rubbing her eye. "N-Nothing… I just… I need to be alone right now…" I spout, walking away from the campsite.

Lovec

Zander walked away from the area, leaving me with Atsu. I don't know exactly what happened, but he certainly seemed upset about something.

"What was that all about?" Atsu asked.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the swamp's psychological effects?" I ask. Atsu took a deep breath and nodded his head.

"I'm sure that's what it was… I'll be right back." He said. He got up and walked away to chase after Zander, leaving me all alone..

" _ **Why? Why did you leave me?**_ " A familiar voice spoke. As soon as I heard the voice a terrible feeling swept over me, followed by a horrible memory. I hesitantly turn around and see Kayd in a dark and horrifying form.

"Kayd? Why… what are you doing here?" I demand, my breath quick.

" _ **You left me there, to be devoured and slaughtered by those creatures…"**_

"I didn't-"

" _ **I called your name and you ran!**_ " He screamed.

"I didn't mean to! I was young and scared! I didn't know what to do!" I yelled back.

" _ **The pain… the searing, scorching pain. It hurt, Lovec! You did this to me!**_ " Tears were streaming down Kayd's eyes.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY, KAYD! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" I couldn't even see him anymore, tears welling up and blurring my vision. I collapse to the ground, breaking down in sobs of pain and regret.

" _ **There's no forgiving this, Lovec… you left me to die. You were a coward! You were a DISGRACE!**_ " He growled. I put my hands over my ears and pushed myself up. " _ **STOP RUNNING FROM YOUR MEMORIES, GIRL!**_ " He yelled.

"NO!" I screamed, grabbing my... Kayd's blade, and swung it at him. When the blade connected to his skin, he vanished in a cloud of black mist.

" _ **You did this...**_ " He whispered, and faded away. Sadness turned to rage, and I threw the blade at the ground, causing it to bounce into the warped underbrush. I fell to the ground and began sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry, Kayd... I'm so, so sorry, Kayd... Kayd, I'm sorry..." I start mumbling to myself over and over again. Suddenly, a hand touched me softly, and I looked up to see Ori holding the sword I threw.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I shook my head to avoid speaking. He sat down next to me and placed his hand on my arm. "Forgive me for asking, Lovec, but… who is Kayd?" He asked. Like every other time someone asked, I refused to answer. However, I've known Ori for a long time so I think it's about time I answered the question. Geez, I've got some serious explaining to do...


	21. Unknowing

I'm deciding to post all of the chapters I have completed... For those who wanted to see more... I'm doing this for all of you

CHAPTER 21

UNKNOWING

Ori

"When I fell from the tree, I floated farther than I was supposed to, and Wraiths found me. When I woke up, they were closing in, and I was sure I would be killed. Out of nowhere, a flash of white flew by, and a spirit wielding a sword attacked the wraiths, taking all of them out in a few swings. That was Kayd. After he saved me, he adopted me, like Naru did with you." She explained. I decided not to say anything, so I just kept paying attention.

"He raised me as his own, and trained me to defend myself with a sword. But one day during training, we were ambushed by wraiths who wanted revenge. He was tackled and others had set their focus on me. I had the sword in my hand, I could have fought back. He screamed my name, but instead of fighting, I ran. I left him to die, and I regret doing that ever since." She said, tearing up. I move closer to her and drape my arm over her, pulling her close. Her head falls into her hands and she begins crying again. I've never seen her act this way before, she was always an optimistic spirit, unless she was just bottling up her emotions.

"What happened?" Atsu asked. I looked up and saw him standing with Zander shortly behind him, looking at Lovec.

"She saw something… we need to find whoever we're looking for and get out of here." I say, looking at Zander, who is trying not to look back at me. I can't believe I just walked away from him like that… he probably thinks I hate him now. Through the trees, the sky began turning dark blue, meaning the sun was rising again.

"Where is the spirit we're looking for? I want to get out of here." Zander asked.

"He's around here, he was looking for something underground, so look for any holes or something." Atsu said. I push myself up, looking at Zander once again, and start walking. I feel absolutely terrible, pushing him away like that. I walked ahead of everyone else, and Zander walked behind everyone, trying not to look at me. I stop walking and let everyone else walk past me, and I begin walking next to Zander.

"Look… I'm sorry about what happened, I just… I don't know what happened, but I want you to know I don't hate or dislike you… it's just this swamp playing tricks with my head, trying to make me think you were a bad person. I want to leave as much as you do." I say to him. He looked at me, then away again.

"I saw something too… My mom was here… it was an illusion or something, and I knew that, but it didn't feel good talking to her." He whispered.

"I'm sorry you had to see this play out the way it did, I thought we could go through here without anything happening… I was obviously wrong." Zander said.

"It's fine, it's not like anybody would know what would happen in here, I'm sure you aren't the only one to make this mistake." I reply. Commotion is heard near the front of the group, and they gather around a wide pit.

"What did you find?" Zander asks.

"I think we found the entrance to the cave he spoke about, it has all the features he told me about." Atsu said. I walk near the edge and instantly become sick. Looking down into the pit, after a few hundred feet, light ceases to exist.

"We have no idea what's at the bottom, but who knows, it may not be that bad at the bottom." Atsu said. Lovec's ears began twitching, and she winced.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, it's just… I'm getting this weird feeling from this hole, like some sort of energy… but it's not dark." She says. I look back down and see distortion in the air.

"I see what you're talking about." I say.

"Well, we came all this way, might as well go in." Zander said. He backed up and leapt into the hole. After falling for a couple seconds, he vanishes out of thin air.

"Zander? What just happened? Where did he go?" I ask.

"Amazing, the hole is merely a backdrop, the field of distortion is a portal to another area… but it's not from the Spirit Portal." Atsu said. He stepped back and jumped into the hole, disappearing, then Lovec followed behind, leaving me by myself. I step back and take a deep breath.

"This better be worth it!" I shout, and jump into the hole, becoming sick as I enter the distorted space.

Angst

I walk towards the mouth of the cave, head pulsing violently, voices scream in my head.

"Shut up!" I mumble to myself, hitting the side of my head. I can't get to the spirit and his friend any other way, they are too strong, and they fight without fear… so the best way to reach them, is to go for the ones they love… It'll bring them to me. I stumble into the cave, and she looks at me, tilting her head slightly.

"Oh hello… um, are you a friend of Ori's?" She asks. I bring my hand behind my back, palming a newly summoned knife. A perk of being me, is that I can just make weapons out of thin air, using the darkness in my body.

"Yes… a friend." I say. I slowly walk towards her, pulling the knife from behind my back. As she sees the blade, she begins backing away.

"Come on lady, I'm not going to hurt you, unless you struggle." I tell her. She turns to run, and I extend my arm and grab the back of her neck, pulling her to the ground.

"NO PLEASE, LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screams.

"Naru? What's wrong?" A voice speaks. A human appears at the other side of the cave, and sees me.

"Angst? What are you doing here?!" He shouts. I wave my hand over her face, causing her to instantly pass out.

"What did you do?! STAY AWAY FROM HER!" The human shouts, running towards me. I move towards him and spin, striking him in the back of the ankle, severing his tendon. He collapsed as soon as the blade connected, screaming loudly. I then moved on to the other, making sure he wouldn't get up.

"Stop, please don't kill me!" He begged. I lift the blade and shove it into the center of his stomach, just below his ribcage. He gasped loudly as the knife sunk in. "The longer it stays in there, the faster the darkness spreads, but if you remove it, you'll bleed out. Make a wise decision." I say, walking away.

"Come on, I got what I came for." I shout, and multiple wraiths come into the cave, and lift her off the ground, carrying her away.

"No… stop… please…" The human gasped, reaching for me. I turned around and looked at him, shaking my head.

"Don't take it personally." I say, turning away and leaving the cave.


	22. The Cave

CHAPTER 22

THE CAVE

Ori

I am ejected from the dimensional field, and I hit the concrete and steel floor.

"Holy crap… this place is massive!" Zander exclaims. I look up, and see that the cave extends for a long distance in all directions. The distance couldn't possibly be measured, but I knew that you could fit the spirit tree, along with all of Nibel in here, and still have space to spare. The walls and ceiling were built in sections, suspended in midair, and between the sections light was shining through, brighter than the light the tree shares at night time. I push myself up, and look over the edge, instantly backing away.

Below the platform, suspended by unknown forces, the ground ceases to exist, seeming to extend forever below us. Since we can actually see inside the cave (or whatever it is) we can see that the area under us extends until the four corners extend into a single point. If someone fell, they would fall forever… not even figuratively. There are no railings, no ledges, nothing to keep us from falling off, so that makes this even worse for me.

"You okay?" Atsu asks.

"No, no I'm not… too high…" I say, holding my stomach.

"Well, don't worry, I feel the same way." Zander said. He began walking along the narrow path towards a stone structure, and I followed close behind, trying to ignore the sickening height. As we approached the structure, it began cracking, and light began shining through the crevices. The cracks and light spread to the very top of it and the structure shattered, floating around and forming into a large tablet, slamming together and landing slowly on the ground. The light in the structure faded away, revealing a stone engraving of… something. Zander approached it and placed his hand on it, looking intently at the carvings. After a few moments of silence, he stepped back and looked at the whole thing.

"Hmm… I have no idea what any of this is." Zander said.

"Here, let me." Atsu said, walking past Zander. He studied the carvings on the steel plate, moving his finger across multiple points to read the sections.

After a few minutes, he placed his hand on a small plate on the left side, where an outline of a hand with sharp fingers resided. On the right side of the plate, another hand shaped imprint lied, with a similar shape to mine.

"Try your hand there." Atsu said, pointing with his free arm at the other hand print. I walk up to the tablet, and place my hand at the other hand print, and the tablet begins glowing with dark and white light. The light spreads to the center and meet up at a single point. After a few seconds of more crackling, a strange symmetrical shape is formed in the center, which falls out of the tablet onto the ground. I walk up to it and pick it up. It has a strange texture to it, and it glows brightly, half of it dark, half of it is light, glowing between the lines and cracks of the object. "What is this?" I ask.

"A key, one of four, leading to… something. The writing on this was incomplete, almost as if it was broken or taken from a completed transcript." Atsu said.

"Well, where are the other three?" Zander asks.

"It says something about the other three regions, so we're going to have to explore some more." Atsu said.

"Greeeat, more walking." Lovec mumbled. We turn around and walk towards the wormhole.

"Where's that guy you were talking about?" I ask Atsu.

"Umm… I don't know, there's no telling where he wandered off to, all we can do is hope he's okay." He replied. We walked into the distorted field and were shot back through space and time, returning to our plane.


	23. My Own Two Hands

CHAPTER 23

MY OWN TWO HANDS

Ori

"It feels so good to breathe in fresh air again." Zander said, taking a deep breath.

"I kinda miss the swamp, with the weird hallucinations and the death." Lovec said. Zander looked at her with a horrified face.

"I'm just kidding, but I still feel like there was more we could explore." She said.

"We can explore anywhere BUT there, that place is off limits, _forever_." Zander replied.

"I don't know about you, but I found it rather peaceful, but that may just be me." Atsu said flashing a creepy smile. We approach the Spirit Tree, and with a breath of relief, we find that everything is still okay. Saree sees us, and approaches us.

"Hey, so did you find anything?" He asked. Zander pulled the strangely shaped key out of his bag, and handed it to him.

"What is this? It's surprisingly light weight." He said, bobbing it in his hands. "It's a key to something, we have to find the other three keys in the other regions. I'm just wondering why there isn't one in Nibel." I say.

"Yeah, that is kinda strange." Zander says. I begin thinking, and I suddenly feel homesick.

"Hey, I'm gonna go to Swallows Nest. See you later." I say, waving.

"Alright, see ya." Zander replies, walking to the Spirit Tree. I walk through the spirit gate and walk through Sunken Glades, walking over obstacles and other obstructions. It's always nice to retrace steps, remembering the adventures I once had, even if they were less than pleasant. I approach the rock wall and begin climbing. As I reach the top, I sit on a thick branch, catching my breath, and I approach the cave.

"Hey, Naru, I'm back!" I shout. No response. She's probably out getting fruit. As I get close to the cave, I begin hearing sporadic gasps, and moaning. I stop walking, and begin inching into the cave, knowing something is wrong. I peek around the corner and see Mark laying on the ground, with a knife sticking from his chest, covered in black skin.

"MARK!" I shout, running close to him. The darkness has taken over almost all of his body, if I removed the knife he would bleed out before I could save him.

"N-Naru… He took her, Angst took her." Mark sputtered. Angst had kidnapped Naru, and fatally wounded Mark… What will Zander think of this? I walk behind Mark and sit down, placing my hand on his head, stroking his neck to calm him down. At this point he was a shaking, incoherent mess. I couldn't begin to imagine what he was feeling.

"Hurts… hurts…" He whimpered.

"I know… Don't worry, you'll be okay." I say, trying to calm him down.

He curled up tighter, moaning as the darkness spread across his body.

"I don't… I don't want to die… it hurts so much." He says. I try to blink back tears, taking a deep, shaky breath. I walk in front of him and lay down, looking into his eyes. Seeing his eyes, I begin to feel the pain he's feeling. The fear of death is a horrible fear, intensified when you stare it in the face. I move closer to him, and feel his warm breath. His left eye has turned black, and a weird liquid oozes from the edges. He stares me in the eyes, and smiles slightly.

"You have pretty eyes… Like seeing the moon in a pitch black night." He says quietly. I laugh softly.

"I always wondered why we have different eye types… Mine being black with white centers, and yours being white with different colors and a black center." I say. I look down and see the strange, serrated knife sticking out of his stomach, below his rib line.

"Hey, look at me, okay?" I say to him. He looks back up into my eyes, and I reach down, grabbing the hilt of the knife, pulling it out.

"Nnngh" He moans. I place my hand over the wound blocking the blood, despite the darkness stinging my hands.

"Mark, I'm sorry." I say, placing the knife over his heart, and I start to add pressure.

"N-no please, I… I don't want to die! Ori please, don't!" He stammers. I stop pushing for a moment, and think about the possibilities. There's no way I can carry him to a Spirit Well, or the Spirit Tree, and he can't walk. If I went to get someone, he would have changed over by the time I got here.

"Mark, please forgive me!" I shout. He raises his arm to me and grabs mine. I close my eyes and push the knife into his chest with both hands. The thudding of his heart comes to a stop.

"Ori…" He whispers, as his breath leaves his body, and his arm goes limp. He was dead. I step away from him and walk out of the cave, collapsing in an emotional heap outside the doorway. Zander's friend… Naru's friend… MY friend… was dead… by my own two hands. Footsteps approach, and I stay on the ground.

"Ori? Ori, what's wrong?" Zander asks.

"I'm sorry… so… so sorry." I sob. He looks at me, then looks at the cave entrance. He approaches the cave and looks inside, emotion draining from his face.

"M… Mark?" He stutters. He enters the cave, out of my view, and I push myself up, walking into the doorway. I see him knelt over his lifeless body, head down.

"He was going to turn, I had to!" I said. "Did he beg for mercy?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" I reply. "He was scared of death, he knew there was nothing after life… Did he beg for your mercy?" He asked again. I was silent for a moment.

"Yes…" I said. "Why? Why did you kill him, then? WHY KILL HIM WHEN THE LAST OF HIS SANITY WAS DRAINING FROM HIS MIND? WHY NOT WAIT UNTIL HE HAD CHANGED?!" He screamed.

"I had to, he was in so much pain!" I shouted. He stood up, turned around and walked past me, bumping into my shoulder.

"Zander, where are you going?" I ask. I bring my hand up to his, and he swipes it away. "Get away from me." He growled, running from me.

"ZANDER!" I scream. He runs through the underbrush and disappears behind a bush. I fall to the ground and break into emotional panic. He hated me. I was left all alone, laying at the mouth of the cave, housing the now dead friend of Zander's. My mother was gone, and my best friend was gone.

"Ori? What's wrong?" A voice asks. I open my eyes, and see that the sun has gone down. I look up and see Atsu's glowing eyes.

"I… I killed Mark… I had to, he was going to turn into a Wraith… but when Zander saw him… he left. He ran away from me… he told me not to stay away from him… he hates me." I reply, looking back down. He looked over into the cave and looked back down, sighing loudly.

"I'm sorry Ori… He'll understand soon. Until then, he just needs time alone." Atsu said. I curl up tighter and feel like I'm going to cry again.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he wants me out of his life forever." I say, looking at the ground. Atsu kneels down and looks me in the eyes.

"Now if there is one thing Zander won't do, it's take you out of his life. He loves you, and he loves being around you. You're the reason he survived in Nibel years ago, and you're the reason he loves being here. Just give him time." Atsu assured me. I looked at him, and back down at the ground.

"I… I would just like some time to think." I said. He looked at the ground, then wrapped his arms around me, picking me up. I was expecting my skin to start turning black, but when our skin connected, his began hissing loudly, as light connected to darkness.

"Atsu, my light is hurting you!" I say.

"I know. But I don't care." He replied, carrying me over his shoulder. He walked through the underbrush and walked out to the cliff we usually climb to get here, which has a perfect view of the Spirit Tree, and the rest of Nibel. He sets me down next to the edge and sits down, allowing his legs to hang off.

"So… is there anything you want to talk about? We've got plenty of time." He said.

"Why? Why do you care how I feel? You're a wraith, you should want to kill me." I say. He looks away and then back at me.

"Heh… hell if I know… I just feel the need to help others sometimes… Sure, the urge to kill is there, but it doesn't affect me." He said.

"Well, you didn't answer my question… why do you care about me?" I ask again. He looks down and begins twiddling his thumbs.

"I guess… it's what Tatsu would want me to do… care about others, even if it's not even in my nature to." He said. I continued to lay on the ground, looking at the tree in the distance, with the faint glow on top.

"Um… I hate to bring it back up, but we should probably do something about Mark…" I say slowly. Atsu sighed loudly.

"Yeah, I know…" He said, pushing himself up. He pulled me up and we made our way to the cave, seeing Gumo inside. As I saw him, my heart jumped. He picked up his lifeless body and looked into his eyes. We slowly walked inside and he looked up at us.

"Who did this?" He asked.

"I-I did. He was attacked by wraiths… I had to." I said, hesitantly.

"You… you did this?" He asked. I took a step backwards and nodded, afraid of what he may do. He looked back down at Mark and brushed his hand over his face, closing his eyes.

"He was a good kid… was it hard? Killing him?" He asked. I nodded again, and my eyes started puffing up, a lump forming in my throat.

"I'm sorry Ori… sorry that you had to do that…" He whispered. He looked back up and took his body out of the cave.

"Where are you going?" Atsu asks.

"When members of my own kind lost their life, we would bury them… I don't know why… but I feel like it's the right thing to do." He replied. He walked out the back of the cave, past us, and began making his way towards the Spirit Tree. We decided to follow him back, trying not to look at Mark. I've had to kill before… but this is different. I don't know what I'm feeling right now, I can't tell if its sadness, or misery… is this what _depression_ feels like? We get back to the tree, and spirits begin gathering. As they approach us, they see Mark and begin slowing their approach. They stop and begin whispering back and forth to each other.

"Ori? What happened to him?" One asks. I look away and continue walking. Saree pushes his way through the crowd and sees Mark. He slowly approaches and begins walking with us.

"When did this happen? I'll find who did this!" Saree shouted. Atsu placed his hand on his shoulder, shaking his head, and looking at me. I looked away and kept my eyes pointed at the Tree.

"Ori had to… he was in pain, Angst got to him… they took Naru." He whispered. Saree looked back at me, and looked down.

"I'll gather some spirits, we can depart when you're ready… we can get Naru back quickly, don't worry." He says.

"No… we can't do it now, Angst will expect us… we have to get the orb we are searching for first." I reply.

"Alright… I'm sorry, Ori... I hope this all works out in your favor." He says, walking away. We walk to the base of the tree, and Gumo sets Mark's body on the ground. He begins shoveling the dirt with his hands, and I get on the ground and help him dig in the ground, soon other spirits join us. After a minute or so, a square hole is dug in the ground, and Gumo places Mark's body in the hole, curled up in a ball. I stand back and stare into the hole.

"Here, I found this." Atsu said, handing me a small square paper. On it, was a picture of Zander, Mark, Lovec, Naru, Gumo, and me. We are all smiling at the camera point. A lump forms in my throat again, and I drop the picture into the hole. It would be better to store memories with him. As the picture lands on his thigh, Gumo begins filling the hole with dirt. We help him fill the hole, and step back from his grave.

"I still don't know why you do this… but it feels better knowing he's here." I say. Gumo puts his hand on my back, and Atsu puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Come on… let's go find Zander." Atsu says.


	24. Insanity

CHAPTER 24

INSANITY

Zander

The sky is pitch black, and the only thing lighting the area around me is my light, which isn't the most effective lantern. I walk through dense forestation by a cliff wall, and every now and then a rock falls from the top. Mist forms at my mouth, and I rub my hands against my forearms to keep warm. My mind is a cocktail of emotions, and my eyes are welled with tears. What have I done? I jumped into a world I knew virtually nothing about, knowing I could never return. Sure, coming here has solved a lot of problems for me, but at what cost?

My parents, my friends, my family, everyone I knew and loved is gone, and everyone who knew and love me have no idea where I went… I abandoned them for a life I thought was better than my own back on earth. As I'm lost in thought, something comes from the underbrush and wraps around my legs. I trip and fall, next to the cliff wall. I look down and see a wire, attached to two steel balls, wrapped around my legs. I struggle to take them off, but they begin melting into each other, making untangling myself impossible. Raspy laughter, like rustling papers emanate through the trees. A laughter I have come to know well.

"Well… I didn't expect you to be all the way out here… all alone, with no friends to save you." Angst says, walking from between two trees. I panic and pull myself away from him, and my light illuminates a small area of cliff wall meeting together. I'm trapped with no way out. I turn and see him slowly approach with a wire in his hands.

"Hold still." He whispers. He tries to grab my hands, and I swing at him, narrowly missing.

"Ugh, stop struggling. It will only make this harder on you." He says, angrily. He grabs my shirt and flips me over, binding my hands behind my back with a wire.

"Stay away from me!" I scream, trying to inch away. I back myself into the corner, and lean against it, seeing him approach slowly. When I'm sitting down, he stoops to head height. Even though he's short, he's the deadliest thing I've seen out here.

"So, Zander… what brings you out here?" Angst asks, holding my chin with his hand. His touch feels like acid, and my skin begins burning.

"Please, don't kill me!" I beg, trying to back further into the wall. He laughed quietly, smiling. "Kill you? Why would I do that? But what I will do is going to be worse than any pain you've ever felt, so try not to scream too loud." He says, running his fingers through my hair. I look away and close my eyes, trying hard not to cry, but the pain is excruciating.

"Aww, what's wrong? Am I too scary? Or is it the pain? What you're feeling from my touch, it's what I feel every day. This is what I'm stuck with…" He says in my ear. His very breath stings my face.

"W-What are you going to do to me?" I ask. He begins laughing again.

"That would ruin the surprise." He said. He rips my shirt off, and places his hand on my chest, putting me in extreme pain. His hand begins to melt, and his body starts to liquefy as well. He lets his dripping body fall onto mine, and the dark, burning tar begins to cover my body. I scream in agony moments before the black liquid covers my face, and everything goes black.


	25. Him

CHAPTER 25

HIM

Lovec

"ZANDER!" Ori shouts, cupping his hands around his mouth. We've been looking around Nibel, and the neighboring areas for hours, and the sun came up an hour ago. Multiple search groups were sent out, and we've covered all of Nibel, and most of the areas in between the other regions.

"Ori, we've been looking for a long time, I don't think we'll find him." Atsu said.

"I don't understand. We've been looking for hours, calling his name, he would have at least heard us... it's like he just vanished off the face of the planet." Ori said in disbelief.

"We'll find him, don't worry." I say.

"We're looking for one person, in this maze of trees and underbrush… we've only searched a tiny fraction of this world. I don't think we'll be able to find him." Ori said, looking down.

"HEY, we're GOING to find him! Don't you dare give up on him like this! Do you think he gave up when he saved us from that facility on earth?!" I shout, grabbing his shoulders and looking him in the eyes. He looked up at me, and shook his head.

"Exactly! You're his best friend, and he wouldn't want to hear that from you. Now let's keep looking." I say. He brushes my hands from his shoulders and keeps looking around, calling his name. He couldn't have gone far… could he?

Zander

I slowly awaken on a comfortable bed in a strange looking room, head pulsing with a terrible headache. I feel like I'm about to be sick. A blue fire dances in a torch sconce. Footsteps approach and I close my eyes, feeling a damp cloth on my forehead. I carefully peak from one eye and see a tall glowing figure, with a mask on. That must be the tallest spirit I've ever seen, probably my height.

"Don't try to fool me, I can see you looking at me." She says. She sounds surprisingly British for a spirit.

"Okay, you got me… um, where am I?" I ask. "Tolin, village at the highest altitude." She replies. My heart jumps.

"What?! The floating mountains?! When did I get here, how long was I out?!" I ask loudly.

"Hmm… you got here eight or nine hours ago, no telling how long you were out for before then. You slept like a rock though." She replied. I put my hand on my forehead, trying to ease the pain.

"It's kinda hard not to, when a wraith melted into your skin." I mumble to myself. She drops everything she is holding and steps backwards.

"What did you say?" She asks. I feel like I shouldn't have said that.

"I said that a wraith melted into my skin." I repeat. She opened her hands and two orbs of light appeared in them, an ability I have never seen before. She approached me and began moving them over my body, as if scanning it, and she stopped above my chest.

"There it is." She says. She pushes the orbs of light into my chest and the room begins changing. The walls and ceiling begin melting and the liquid begins flooding the room before covering my body completely, and my mouth fills with the bitter fluid.

"Hmm, nice place." Angst speaks. I open my eyes and we're sitting at a table in a familiar looking room. I instantly recognize it as the dining room in my house on Earth.

"What is this?" I ask, looking around.

"You know what this place is, but we are actually sitting in your subconscious." Angst says, eating scoops of yogurt.

"Well… how did we get here?" I ask.

"Well, we are currently in a dream state, meaning that either of us can create and destroy anything, like a sandbox." He says. A game with a similar objective passes my mind. I stand up and begin walking around. Memories begin to resurface and I feel terribly homesick.

"Say, why don't you try to make something? It's relatively easily actually. I can't explain how to do it, but it just comes naturally." Angst says. I hold my hand out, and an apple appears above my hand, landing neatly in my palm.

"It's kinda strange being able to do this, but it can be pretty fun." He says.

"So why am I here? Are you going to kill me? Destroy my mind?" I ask, looking back at him.

"Zander, I'd love to kill you, but you aren't _you_. You are a projection of your mind. But if I were to kill you, you'd just forget everything." He says, eating a bowl of yogurt.

"By the way, this stuff is delicious, what is it?" He asks.

"Yogurt, looks like strawberry." I say. He looks down and examines the pinkish goop, and sticks the spoon back in.

"Well, before we start, let me tell you a story." He says, dropping the bowl. The world begins changing and we are now standing atop the capital building in Florida, a building I have climbed many times before. He walks to the edge and stares over the city, quietly.

"I was once like Ori and Lovec. A normal spirit, who found joy in passing the time. White skin, cute little nose, the whole idiotic anatomy." He spouted, looking down at the mentally simulated world. It's hard to believe that this monster was once a creature of light.

"I loved exploring the world, I knew there were millions of nooks and crannies outside of Nibel that I could explore. The world was ripe with adventure. I never liked exploring alone though… so one day, along comes this cute girl. Fluffy fur, long furry frills, and short ears. I immediately took a liking toward her, and began following her around, trying to find the courage to say something to her." I smiled at the thought of Angst having a girlfriend.

"I eventually had the guts to say something and I asked if she wanted to explore with me, stammering every word. I looked like a fool trying to talk to her like that, but she said yes. I told her my name, and she told me hers… _Sen_ … god, I loved her…" He trailed off, and sorrow filled his eyes.

"It was a normal day, the sun was shining through the blue sky, few clouds hung in the sky, and it was perfect weather for exploring. We were farther than we have ever been, and we found something. Some steel door or something. Sen was hesitant to enter, but I just ignored her… I should have listened to her."

"You found the vault…" I said quietly. He nodded and closed his eyes.

"We walked inside and found this huge pit of… black stuff. Sen was tempted to run and drag me with her, but I reassured her and took her closer. The liquid came to life and slid out of the pit. It shot toward me and grabbed my leg. Sen tried to grab me and pull me out but I slid from her grasp." I tried not to imagine what he was describing, but it was already appearing in my mind.

"I was dragged into the pit, screaming for help. Sen watched as I was pulled into the black sludge. My mouth and lungs filled with the fluid and it drank the light from my body, replacing it with darkness. My skin was stabbed and flayed, and more liquid poured into my body. It felt like I was being prodded and shanked with barbed needles repeatedly." I cringe at the thought of that pain.

"The pain wouldn't stop. Suddenly… I was on the ground. I pushed myself up and hacked up black liquid. I looked around and Sen was nowhere to be seen. Did she leave me? I stumbled out of the cave rubbing the black liquid that dripped from my eyes and nose. It was like the liquid was overflowing in my body. It was so painful." I nearly gag at the thought.

"As I left the cave, I felt… hungry. I looked around and gathered some fruit from the trees and bit into one, but I felt repulsed at the flavor. I was hungry for… something else. It took a few hours, but I finally stumbled back to Nibel. Spirits began to gather around and stare at me. One reached out and touched my skin, immediately yanking it back and backing away from me. Contact with my skin was painful. I wanted to apologize to them for unintentionally hurting them, but they ran from me. Knowing something feared me was a horrible feeling." I stood silently before sitting next to him.

"I know how it feels… people on Earth were afraid of me for the abilities I got from Nibel." I said, setting my hand on his shoulder. He frowned and swiped my hand from his shoulder.

"I tried not to look at them as I pushed through the crowd and ran back to my home. I found Sen in there. She looked up at me and gaped… she stared at me… She almost didn't believe it was me, even though I tried to tell her it was me. She ignored the pain and embraced me, crying into my shoulder… I felt so happy knowing she still loved me, despite being what I was… but her skin turned black as she held me. I wriggled from her arms and stepped away, gawking at her skin. I couldn't hold her any more… I would just hurt her… I turned and ran from her, not looking back. She tried to run after me, but I just kept running… I just kept running from her… running from the one I loved." Angst pulled his legs close and hugged his knees.

"I kept running until I found a cave to lie down in. I was so hungry, but I didn't know what to eat. Suddenly, a glow approached from outside the cave. I backed further into the small cave and curled up, to hide the glow of my eyes. Suddenly, I hear their voice. ' _Hello? Who's in here?_ ' A small spirit found me by accident. I told them to leave me alone, that I just needed to be by myself… but they entered anyway and tried to comfort me… and my mouth began watering." I wanted his story to be over.

"A horrifying voice began chanting in my head, **JUST KILL THEM, SATURATE YOUR HUNGER!** The voice was persistent, I tried to get it out of my head, but it began taking over. The child looked… so tasty. My vision went blurry and I blacked out. I came to in the same cave. The child was gone… but… there was liquid everywhere. The glowing silvery blood of a spirit. I saw glowing out of the bottom of my eye… the silvery liquid coating my lips and cheeks. Did… I just _eat_ the child? I wiped the blood from my face and stuck my fingers into my mouth to try and force myself to throw up what I had just eaten, but it wasn't working." I turned around and walked to the other side of the building, covering my ears.

"I wanted to get the spirit out of my belly. I didn't want to become a monster. I just prayed and hoped that it was just a nightmare, that I would wake up and be normal again, and that I would be in Sen's arms… and I heard her voice. _'Kaiju, where are you?!'_ It was Sen's voice… I told her to stay away. I told her not to come in, and that I was dangerous. She stepped into the mouth of the cave, and screamed at the sight… the blood, the gore… she ran from me, and the voice came back… _**kill her...**_ I struggled to ignore it, but I blacked out anyway." My heart sank… he _killed_ his lover…

"I opened my eyes, and I saw her lying there. Beaten and attacked within an inch of her life, she looked up at me with tears filling her eyes. I fell to my knees and tried to help her, but she pushed me away and tried to crawl from me. ' _ **Look at what you've done… you monster.'**_ The darkness spoke in my head. I began crying… I lost the one I loved, and it was MY FAULT. IF I HAD JUST LISTENED TO HER, SHE WOULD BE OKAY, AND I WOULD BE _ME!_ " He screamed, gripping his head tightly. He turned and stepped toward me.

"A-Angst, what are you doing?" I asked looking at him nervously.

"Thanks to you, I've been released from that vault, and I can finally reclaim the surface. I'll start with Nibel, and work my way around… But first…" He smiles maliciously and begins advancing toward me. " **I'll start off by slaughtering you…"**

I stepped away from him, and the edges of the building began falling, forcing us to the center. I looked him straight in the eyes. Blinded by hate, he wanted only one thing at the moment… to kill me. The ground underneath me collapsed, and I was about to fall into the void of my mind, before he grabbed me by the throat. Contact with his skin didn't hurt as much, but it was still excruciating.

"So… you're just gonna end it here? Like a coward, in a world you can control?" I ask, grabbing at his arm. He laughs between his teeth, flashing a devilish grin.

"Well, even though killing you would make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, I probably wouldn't. That would end it faster. I thought I would browse through your mind, uncovering those dark secrets you keep locked away, looking through fears and disbeliefs… all of the wrong you've done in your life… I'm going to torture you psychologically Zander, that's worse than death itself. And after that, I'm gonna go for your little friend." My heart jumped, and my breath escaped my body.

"Oh what's wrong? You don't want me to hurt him? What was his name? Ori? Yes… Ori. I was considering turning him into a wraith, to fight the ones he loved… but that's almost too nice." He said, pulling me close to his face. His very breath stung my face.

"First, I'm going to break his limbs, and nail them into the ground. Oooh… there are SO many things I could do to him; I'm getting excited just thinking about it!" He growls. My eyes begin welling up.

"You're a monster… Would Sen want this?" I ask. His eyes widen, and shock covers his face. He pulls me back and slams me into a wall, causing me to momentarily black out. Anger warps and distorts his face.

"How dare you… If you ever say anything about her again, I'll keep you alive just so you can watch me gut your friends." He growled. The bluish white void around us flashed brightly, and a loud boom echoed through the infinite space. Angst looked around, seeming to get angrier.

"Ugh, they're pulling you from your subconscious! But we were just about to start! Fine, we can play later, in the meantime, spend some time with your friend… he won't be around much longer. Remember, I ALWAYS keep my word." He said, fading away. I phase through his transparent hand and fall into the void of my subconscious. I struggle to grab onto something. A sickening feeling sweeps over my body, and a flash of white pulls me from my mind.


	26. One Thing After Another

CHAPTER 26

ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER

Zander

"Extraction unsuccessful, we really need to change our procedures." A voice speaks. I slowly open my eyes, and find myself on a less comfortable stone bed, in a white room. The girl spirit from before approaches me and puts her hands on her hips, still wearing the mask.

"Well, I see you're awake, but we couldn't get that freak out of your head. Sorry." She said, scratching her head. I sit myself up, and rub my eyes.

"Why do you care about my health? I mean, I don't even know you... I think." I say, looking at my feet.

"Well, don't take it as us caring about you, if you don't want it that way." She says, crossing her arms.

"Well, I'm not MAD that you tried to help me… I'm just wondering why you felt obligated." I reply.

"It doesn't really matter, just a little test, that's all." She says, helping me off the stone slab. I look around and see multiple spirits staring at me, along with other creatures I've never seen before.

"Come on, walk with me." She said, walking to the door. I follow close behind, looking around. As she opens the door, a blast of cold air hits us, and we pass through the door, closing it behind us.

"Jeez, it's freezing up here!" I say, rubbing my arms. Looking up, the only thing I can see is the blue sky and the sun, with no clouds to be seen. We begin walking down the path through the village and approach a building at the end.

"This is storage, we put your stuff in here." She says, opening the door with a key.

"From what I've seen, no spirit is this intelligent. Locks and keys, doctors and medical procedures. How did you do this?" I ask, admiring the scenery.

"We were always into discovering new things, inventing new contraptions, learning about this world. It's just what we do. But it gets boring after a while, all of this didn't happen in one night. But I did help them do most of this." She says, pushing the door open, allowing me to walk in.

"Well, you all did a great job at this, it's almost like I'm back at Earth." I say, as she closes the door. The room is a dull grey color, with sconces of blue fire to light up the walls. Rows of lockers and containers line the walls and center of the room. She approaches a container in the corner, unlocking it, and sitting on a bench. I walk to the container and begin gathering my belongings, reequipping my grapple hook.

"So… if you don't mind me asking, what is that mask for?" I ask, securing the chassis on my arm.

"Oh, I have to wear this when I work. If I have to get up close and personal with subjects, I have to have this on, like any other medical staff does." She says. She pulls the mask off, and her hair rolls down, stopping at her shoulders. Her eyes, nose, ears, all of it resemble that of something I once knew. That of a human.

"Huh… that's funny, you kinda look like a person." I say, tilting my head.

"That's because I am. Surprised?" She asks. smiling. I approach her, and touch her glowing light-blue skin. "But your skin, your eyes… you look like a spirit, just…"

"Different?" She asks. "Yeah, different." I reply. She sets the mask on the bench and stands up, equaling my height.

"But… why do you look like this? How did you get here? I am so confused right now." I say, rubbing my eyes again.

"Well, when did you get here, and what year was it when you left?" She asks.

"Well, when I got here a year ago, it was 2018, midsummer." I say. She rubs her chin, as if trying to figure something out.

"Well, that means that I've been here for 187 years, if time runs normally here." She says, nodding her head.

"Wha… 187 YEARS? But how are you still alive?" I ask. "Don't you know how light works? When subjected to light, DNA replication runs normally, but errors in cellular code just stop happening. If light were a thing on earth, nobody would ever die." She said, crossing her arms. I shake my head, and look down.

"But, I don't understand… how did you get here?" I ask.

"It's a bit foggy, but I remember being stationed somewhere, and a flash of light. There was some… orb, and I touched it… And then I was here." She said.

"A rift… they appear everywhere. But if it was a normal rift, then that means-"

"My body is still on earth, I know. My body either got buried or eaten by wolves, because the connection is severed. I'm stuck here." She said, cutting me off.

"Well, enough about me, how did you get here?" She asks, sitting down and patting the bench. I sit down and set my bag on the ground.

"Well… about 4 years ago, I found this weird blue glowing orb in my basement. I touched it not knowing what would happen, and I woke up in some weird ass forest. Everything was wrong, the trees were too big, and there were some weird colors for a natural environment." She leaned against the locker touching the bench, and looked at the ceiling.

"I walked around and found a big tree, with some weird glowing stone platform. I fell asleep on it, and was later found by a little white creature, by the name of Ori, accompanied by a loud, glowing, flying ball by the name of Sein. They talked about how the forest was dead, and I joined them, because I was bored."

"Right, Nibel went blind a few years ago… I forgot about that." She said, rubbing her chin.

"Well this lead to that, and I'm standing on the Spirit Portal's base, with the forest back to life, and everything back to normal. At that point, Ori and I were best friends, but I had to go back to earth, because Nibel was acting defensively, and because I was getting homesick. We said our goodbyes and I left. Three years go by, and I'm greeted by another rift, and when I approached it, Ori and another spirit came through." I explained.

"So, a spirit came to earth? That's rather strange…" She whispered to herself.

"Well, after a while, Earth began acting defensively as well, so we knew we had to leave. We traveled across Earth, and met spirits under Mount Everest, from Tolin. After a couple complications, we traveled through the portal to Nibel, but we forced the portal to take our soul and body, destroying it in the process." I explained.

"Wha- you destroyed the spirit portal? Well _that_ explains why it stopped showing up." She said, crossing her arms.

"We wanted to make sure that nobody could come through here. All we need is a hunter to go through a rift, and begin killing everything. Besides, if you and I could have gone through one, then others may go through one as well." I say. She nods her head and looks forward. Her skin is flawless, no blemishes, no bumps or imperfections, the skin of a spirit, worn by a human.

"So, what's your name?" She asks, tilting her head. "Zander… Yours?" I ask. "Aurora… it's nice to meet you." She says. Aurora… what a nice name. "So, forgive me for asking, but… why were you in the outskirts? Nobody ever goes there unless they are running from something." She says, crossing her arms. I look forward and my heart hurts at the thought of Mark's lifeless body. "Well… I came to Nibel with another person… Mark. We were great friends, but… Ori killed him." I said. She frowned. "Killed him? Spirits are almost always docile, what could have happened?" She asked. "Well, he was inflicted by darkness, and Ori had to do something about him, but… I just wish he hadn't done that." I say, looking away.

"Would you have wanted him to suffer? He had to do that, Zander, and from what I know, spirits are not care-free creatures. They care immensely for the well-being of others, so it must've been horrible for him to experience that first hand. Did he know Mark personally?" She asked. I nodded my head. "Ori knew them for little over a year now." I said. "That makes it even worse for him… He didn't want him to suffer, and you ran from him… he probably thinks you hate him now." She said, quietly. "I have to go back and apologize…" I say, holding my head with my hands. "I'll go with you, besides, I've been stuck here doing work for years, so might as well…" She said. I nodded my head. "Alright, I'm fine with that." I reply. She smiles, and pushes herself off the creaky bench. "I guess that's settled… I'll get my stuff, and we can head out immediately." She said, opening a locker and stuffing a bag full of things. "Be right back, I'll meet you by the front gate and we can set off." She said, walking out the door. I followed behind and took a deep breath. The air is so thin up here that breathing deeply doesn't fully satisfy the hunger for oxygen. I walk down the path to a glass arch and stand underneath it staring over the land. He trees look like ants, and I can barely see the spirit tree from here, despite it being a completely clear day. Mount Horu is visible, and the Ginso Tree looks like a toothpick from here. "Alright, I've got my best guys working in my place, so we can get going now." Aurora said, walking past me. "Oh, and one more thing." She says reaching into her bag. She grabs something, and pulls out a strange steel object. The second key we've been looking for. "Wha… where did you get this?" I ask, taking the key from her. "You think we haven't searched this whole place? We're EXPLORERS, we just happened to find one of these, lying inside a giant vault. The size of those things are immense! It's insane! Well, I got this for you because I saw you had one in your bag, and thought you may have wanted another." She said, placing her hands on her hips. "Well, thank you! Two more left, I guess." I say, dropping the metal mass into my bag. I begin making my way down the suspended steps with her and slowly, but surely, we make our way to the ground.


	27. Deceived

CHAPTER 27

DECIEVED

Ori

I stuff a few items in a bag and sling it over my shoulder, slowly walking out of the cave. We've spent too much time searching for Zander, on and off, day time only to avoid dangers at night. But I'm TIRED of waiting, I can't sleep at night knowing he's out there alone. I make my way down the cliff by Swallows Nest and begin walking through Sunken Glades. Despite being lush and green and full of life, it's still creepy at night.

I pull myself up walls and over obstacles. I begin making my way down a recently made path out of Nibel, and I start walking the direction Zander went. The chirping of insect life and small birds stop after a while, leaving me with nothing but ambiance created by falling rocks and occasional skitters from other life. I was in the outskirts after an hour or so of walking. The temperature began dropping to freezing, and plant life began curling up, to sleep for the night. The surrounding area was no longer lush and green, but dull and grey. Frost began building on the ground, crunching with every footstep, and the freezing air stings my lungs and mouth. I stop for a moment and take a deep breath. A quiet rustling of a bush directly ahead startles me. I slowly inch toward the bush and stop in front of it.

"H-hello?" I say, reaching for the bush. I see a hand reach out, and Zander pulls himself through the bushes.

"Ori? Oh thank god I found you." He said, grabbing me, pulling me close. He holds me, and I relax in his arms. All of the tension is finally relieved, I finally found him.

"Come on, we should head back to the tree." I say, squirming from his arms. "NO, DON'T, that's… that's not a good idea, why don't we just… walk around?" He asks, looking concerned. I look at him and tilt my head.

"Why not? You're acting really weird right now… are you okay?" I ask. His eyes dart around, as if he's looking for something.

"N-no, I just… we shouldn't. Let's stay here for now." He says, crossing his arms. His arms… he doesn't have his grapple hook on.

"Hey, what happened to your grapple hook?" I ask, pointing at his bare arm. He looks down at his hands.

"Oh, I uh… lost it while fighting a wraith." He said, putting his hands behind his back. Something seems off about him.

"Well, like it or not, we're going back to the tree. Come on." I say, turning around. "No! We shouldn't! Don't you know the wraiths prowl here at night?!" He yells. I stop walking and turn around.

"How would you know that?" I ask, tilting my head. His eyes widen and dart around.

"Zander, _answer me_." I demand sternly. He stops, and smiles creepily.

"Zander?" I say, questioningly. He runs at me and grabs my face, and I squeak as he slams my head into the ground. My eyes get blurry for a few seconds, and I instantly get a headache. He moves his arms and legs to pin my limbs down. I look up at him, and he smiles maliciously at me, sliding his tongue across my cheek and eyelid. His breath smells of rot and death, and I gag at the smell. "ZANDER STOP, THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" I scream.

"Ori relax, this won't hurt." He whispers. He opens his mouth and bares sickly yellow teeth, closing in on my neck. I wriggle my legs from his, and I pull them up, hesitantly bashing him off me. As my legs connect, cracking comes from his chest. He pushes himself off the ground, wheezing and grabbing his chest.

"Z-Zander, I… I didn't mean." I whimper. He collapses to the ground, gagging and coughing as black blood coming from his mouth. BLACK.

"You're not Zander!" I scream. I turn and sprint away, trying not to look back. I begin hearing hard footsteps behind me, and I pick up my pace. I start bashing off hanging fruits and bulbs, shooting past trees and other obstacles. After jumping and evading for a while, the footsteps disappear in the distance, and I'm left in silence. I land on the ground, and collapse to my hands and knees, breathing heavily. What just happened? My best friend just tasted my face, almost bit into my neck… almost killed me. My heart bleeds with a cocktail of emotions… fear, disgust... Something snatches me up, and I scream loudly.

"ORI, CALM DOWN!" Zander shouts, holding me close.

"NO, GET AWAY FROM ME!" I shout, elbowing him in the cheek. I land on the ground and crawl away, before noticing the grapple hook on his arm.

"Ori, what happened, tell me what happened." He said, slowly approaching me, rubbing his cheek.

"Y-You weren't you, you attacked me… tasted my face." I whimpered. He stepped back, shocked.

"T-tasted you? Oh god… But I can promise you it wasn't me!" He said.

"I don't know who is who anymore… just, keep your distance for now." I say, staring at him. Something flies by, and knocks Zander to the ground. I look over and see Zander pinned down by Zander. At this point it's obvious we are being stalked by a doppelganger. The copy pulls the grapple hook off of his arm, and throws it, beginning to land punch after punch on Zander. I run forward bash the attacker, who holds on to Zander tightly. They both begin rolling, and now I can't tell who is who. One picks up the other by the throat, and smashes his fist into their face. I have to do something. I run to the grapple hook and pick it up, putting my small hand inside it and wrapping it around the trigger.

"STOP!" I scream, pointing it at them. They stop and look at me, shock covering their faces.

"Okay… Ori, shoot him, I'm the real Zander." The left says.

"Wha- NO, Ori I'm Zander, shoot him!" The right shouts. I alternate the gauntlet at both of them, breathing heavily. Sweat begin to bead on my face. Who do I shoot? My stomach rumbles, and I remember something.

"Hey, Zander. What's my favorite candy?" I ask. The one on the left, glances at the other and back at me, extremely confused.

"BUTTERSCOTCH!" The right shouts, smiling. I point the grapple hook at the one on the left, and pull the trigger. I am knocked back from the force, and the hook shoots through their forehead, and black blood spurts from the wound. The real Zander wraps his hands around their neck, yanking hard, and a crunching sound echoes off the trees. The doppelganger falls down, motionless, and melts into a wraith. I drop the grapple hook, and slump to the ground, rubbing my sore wrists.

"Ori, I'm so sorry I left… I was almost too late, they could have eaten you alive." He said, approaching me. As he gets near, I reach outwards and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him close to me.

"I don't want to be alone anymore…" I whimper. He sighs loudly, and embraces me, lifting me off the ground.

"That's Ori? He's so cute, unlike the spirits in Tolin. Look at his lil' ears!" A voice exclaims. I look over and see a bright blue, white skinned creature standing near us. I worriedly double take at the creature, preparing myself for another fight. Zander sets me down and walks up to the creature.

"Ori… this is Aurora… an ancient human from Tolin." Zander says. I stick my finger in my ear to make sure nothing is blocking the passage.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that? It's funny, I thought I heard you say human…" I say. She looks at me and smiles. My heart jumps.

"Wait… you ARE human? Like, from Earth?" I ask. She nods to my question.

"But… but… how did you get here? WHEN did you get here?" I ask.

"I got here the same way he did before, by rift… 187 years ago." She said, walking down the dirt path. Zander grabbed my arm and lifted me onto his shoulders, walking next to Aurora.

"187 years? That's… a really long time." I whisper.

"It feels much longer when you're doing nothing but work the entire time… but it's fun sometimes." She says. Some time goes by, and Zander reaches into his bag, pulling out a small journal and pencil.

"Alright, so apparently there are multiple different types of wraiths, with different abilities. There are the ones who summon blades, we'll call them _blade slingers_." He says, scribbling into the book.

"Next, there is… whatever the hell we saw back there." Zander remarks, gesturing behind him.

"We call those shapeshifters... changing their body to match others, to deceive and confuse others. It's disgusting, but one upside to them is that they don't regenerate like others do." Aurora replies.

"Wait, what if that was what we saw in the swamp? What if they weren't hallucinations, but wraiths instead?" I ask. I shudder at the thought. He nods, and continues writing in the book.

"Alright, and then there's… Angst. What would he be?" Zander asks. "I can't even begin to imagine." I reply quietly. He sticks the eraser end of the pencil between his teeth and thinks for a moment.

"Hmm… he's regenerative… creates weapons sometimes… Mostly uses claws and traps... and he also… well, I shouldn't get into that." He says, erasing something. "Hmm? What?" I ask.

"I-It's nothing… not really that important." He says, wiping the eraser shavings from his paper, closing the book with a satisfying _thuck_. He drops the book into his bag, and looks up at me.

"Hey, um… Ori… I'm sorry I ran from you, when… the whole thing happened…" He said, quietly.

"Don't beat yourself up, you were just upset." I reply.

"No, I should beat myself up! I did that to the spirit in Arai, and you understood perfectly! I was ignorant! I only cared about myself, MY feelings, not caring about how you felt! I'm a terrible person!" He shouted. I put my hands on his face and pull his eyesight towards me.

"Did that terrible person help me save Nibel? Huh? Did that terrible person do everything in his power, just to help me? Did that same terrible person risk his life to save me? You're not a terrible person, you're a great person! I love you, Zander… I'd never hate you." I say. He looks forward, wiping his nose and eyes.

"I just… I hate that I abandoned you… I hate that I left you alone. I should have stayed and helped you through it… that choice will probably haunt me at night…" He said.

"Stop. You were conflicted, I don't blame you… I'm just glad you're back." I say. We pass through a large gate, indicating our return to Nibel's province. I jump off his shoulders, and make my way to the Spirit Tree. As I enter, the first thing I see is Lovec.

"Ori?! Where were you?! What happened?!" She shouted.

"I uh… I went out alone, looking for Zande-" I'm cut off by a slap to the face, followed by a crushing hug.

"Damn you Ori, you could have died! I don't want to lose you!" She shouts, holding me tight. Zander comes through the spirit gate, looking around.

"Zander?" Lovec says. She lets me go, and I rub my stinging cheek.

"Yeah, I'm back… Sorry I left." He said. She jumps at him, tackling him to the ground.

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE?! YOU'VE STRESSED ME OUT SO MUCH, I'VE LOST TWO YEARS OFF MY LIFESPAN!" She shouts. I run to Zander and pull Lovec off of his chest.

"I'm sorry, Lovec… I'm so sorry." He said, pushing himself up. "He apologized to me, tearfully." I say, looking at Lovec. She sighed loudly, leaning back.

"It's fine, I'm okay… it's just… I don't want to lose the only things I know again." She said, pushing herself up. Spirits begin gathering around Zander, welcoming him back and getting close to him. Saree began pushing his way through the crowd, and got to Zander. After talking to him outside of earshot for a while, he began pulling him through the crowd. I pat Lovec on the shoulder, and pull myself out of the crowd. After squeezing between other spirits and desert creatures, I make my way to Saree and Zander. They are standing above Mark's grave. Zander has his hand over his mouth, and tears are welling in his eyes. I slowly approach him, and touch his other hand. He wraps his hand around mine and softly squeezes it.

"Did it hurt? Killing him?" He asked quietly. My heart sinks. "More than anything… it was almost too painful to bare…" I reply. His lip shook, and he squeezed my hand harder. He looks up at the blazing orange sky. The sun was setting.

"We should get to sleep, I'm so tired…" He said, letting go of my hand. He stumbles toward the cave under the spirit tree, leaving me with Saree.

"He'll be okay… time heals all wounds." Saree says, smiling. I look away from the grave, walking to the cave entrance.

"This is going to take a long time to heal from." I say, placing my hand on the ceiling of the cave as I descend. As I enter the cave I see Aurora sitting with Zander, both next to a small underground lake. Water runs from a small crevice in the ceiling, making for a smooth ambiance. Aurora looks up at me and smiles, looking back at Zander. He has his head between his knees, curled up while sitting. I sit next to him, and comfort him.

"I just wish he stayed on Earth… I knew that this place wasn't exactly safe. It's like a white rose, with toxic nectar... beautiful on the outside but once you're in it… you won't even know what hit you..." Zander says in a monotone voice. I scooch closer and wrap my arms around him. I don't know what to say.

"It will get better, Zander… I promise." Aurora says, patting him on the back. He sits up and pushes himself off the ground. "I hope so." He says, wiping his eyes. He walks to the wall of the cave and leans against it, sliding to the ground, and closing his eyes. I lay on the ground and curl up, pulling my legs in with my hands. Aurora lays next to me and stares into my eyes. "Hi…" I say shyly, smiling. She smiles back and closes her eyes. I feel a hand on my head, and something laying behind me. I turn around and see Lovec staring at me. She grabs me and pulls me close, wrapping her arms tightly around me. "You're not going anywhere tomorrow… we're gonna stay here and sleep." She whispers, smiling. I smile back and sink into her grasp, looking up at Zander. Something feels… _off_ inside of him…


	28. Sick

CHAPTER 28

SICK

Aurora

"W-what's happening to him?" Ori whimpered. I lift my tired hand onto his forehead, immediately pulling back from the heat. His eyes are closed, vibrating violently. It's as if he's in a horrific fever dream.

"I don't know… he's burning up. Something is very wrong with him…" I reply. I cup my hands and close my eyes. I concentrate, and light pours into the fleshy bowl. I regulate the mass into my right hand, using my left to lift his head. I put my thumb on his cracked lower lip and push his mouth open, pouring the glowing fluid into his mouth. His body jolts before relaxing. Ori begins sobbing behind me.

"Zander… please, don't leave me again… I-I can't do this again…" He wept. I kept my concentration, and continued working on him. I've never seen this before, his body temperature is surging. He was fine last night... I overcome the heat and place my hand on his forehead, moving close to his burning ear.

"Zander, you can't do this now… You have to find a way to get better. I know you're in there, just please find a way…" I breathe. Suddenly, something resonates within him. It's the freak.

Zander

Sweat beads and drips down my naked body. My hands and knees sting from sitting on all fours, struggling to push myself up. The air is sticky and smoldering with heat. My throat is dry, and blood drips from my cracked lips. The air is making no effort to feed my oxygen starved body. My vision is blurry, and sparks dance in the corners of my eyes. I feel breathing on my ear.

"How does it feel?" Angst whispers. I shakily turn my head, almost losing balance from the simple task.

"Wh… what… did you… do to me?" I croaked. He grinned threateningly, reaching for my face. He grabs hold of my bottom jaw, and pushes me. I make no effort to stay upright, and fall on my back.

"I have more control over your mind, and eventually your body. My hatred, my INSANITY, it's stronger than all of your emotions combined. Compared to me, you are nothing. Just another worm I can crush between my fingers." He muttered. I look past his face and examine the area we are in. The sky is black, but the ground extends endlessly in all directions. There is a thin layer of cloudy water covering the ground, as well as occasional sticks and branches. I turn my head, and stick my tongue into the water. It tastes disgusting, but smells of rose petals. I push my head further, and begin lapping at the bitter liquid. He stomps his foot and the water drains, revealing a cracked mud ground. I struggle to get one last taste of the terrible water, but only end up with a mouth full of dust. He crouches down and lifts my head up, nipping his finger.

"Now… there's a reason I brought you in here. What you are seeing is in the point of view of the minds projection of itself. Meaning that _you_ are your entire mind. So if I were to do this…" He trails off, and smears his blood on my forehead. It stings like burning embers.

"Then your mind would deteriorate… **but I don't want your mind to just deteriorate…** " He says. The pain is spreading across my head, causing me to writhe in sheer agony with each passing heartbeat. He covers my eyes with his sandpaper like hand, and a sharp pain robs me of my breath. He slowly pulls a dagger from my chest and smears some of his black blood on the blade before bringing it down into my chest once more. I scream out in agony as the blade breaks through my skin and searing pain assaults my nervous system.

" **Does it hurt? Does the pain make you want to cry? Does it make you want to scream for help?** _ **Mommy, Daddy, Ori, somebody help me, please!**_ **Ha... ha... YOU'RE SO WEAK! YOU'RE SO PATHETIC! IT'S HILARIOUS!** " He screams as he continued to thrust the blood soaked blade into my chest, howling with laughter. With every thrust of the dagger, the deranged grin on his face stretched wider and wider. He finally yanks the blade out of my chest and throws it to the side. With an eager, predatory lick of his lips, he bends down and begins lapping and slurping at the gore flowing out of my chest. His breath was heavy and rugged as if insanity had ran him mad. His rough, drooling tongue slipped in and explored each of my wounds, cleaning the blood out. It felt like a snake was continuously sinking its teeth into my organs. His burning, corrosive saliva coated every inch of my chest. It's as if thousands of bullet ants were inside of me, all biting the inside of my chest at the same time. The pain starts to numb as endorphins shoot into my bloodstream. He pulls his head back and gulps down the blood with a content sigh. Wiping the dark red liquid from his mouth, darkness begins to eat away at the corners of my eyes. I start to melt into the ground, my vision blurred, and I can feel my heartbeat decreasing as his deranged smile grows increasingly larger. A flash of light stabs at my eyes, and Angst looks up.

"Ah, perfect timing…" He looks back down at what was left of me. "See you soon… very soon… _We are going to have so much fun together_..." With a razor sharp grin stretched from ear to ear on his face, he vanishes. My screams echoed the cavern walls with each sound a fleeting plea for help. Finally my screams became silent and my tears dried up, I laid there as the darkness swallowed me whole.

My head screams with pain, and my eyes feel like they're about to burst. My skin is burning, and I can't breathe. Through the pain and darkness, something comforts me. Something is wrapped around my chest, and a head is nuzzling into my neck. Something wet is dripping onto my chest. I struggle to reach up and touch the thing on me. It feels… furry… I slide my hand further up, touching some sort of extension on their head. I slowly open my eyes and see a glowing creature latched onto me. They look up, and a pair of black and white eyes stare into mine. They nuzzle deeper into my neck, squeezing harder. I look past them, and see another white creature, fighting a darker skinned creature. Am I dead? Is this Heaven? Certainly not what I expected. I look back down, and begin stroking the back of their head, like petting a cat.

"Hey little guy, what's your name?" I ask weakly. Their eyes widen, and they slowly look back up. "Zander? Hah… is this one of your jokes? This isn't very funny." The creature says, tearing up.

"Zander? Who are you talking to?" I ask, looking around. Their eyes begin welling up. "Zander, stop… this isn't funny. It's me, Ori!" They reply, raising their voice. I push their arms from around me, nudging them away.

"I don't know who Zander is… I don't know you." I reply, becoming impatient. They're gaping at me, they look so sad. "You… you don't… remember me?" They ask, tears dripping down their cat-like face.

"I… I don't think… you look familiar, but I don't… Who is Zander?" I ask, holding my head. He grabs my shoulders and shakes me. " _You're_ Zander! That's you! You need to snap out of this!" He yells. A girl grabs the creature and picks them up.

"Angst has destroyed a large portion of their mind… Angst is gone from his mind, but Zander remembers nothing. There are only a few fragments of knowledge, stuff he's learned from Earth… He doesn't remember anything from here." She says, holding the weird cat close.

"No… this isn't fair… He's in there! I look familiar, he said that!" He bawls. The girl looks at me, tilting her head.

"We'll see what we can do, but… Angst has done a number on him. We'll be lucky if he gains all of his memories back." She says.

"So, there's hope! We can fix him if we try!" The creature says.

"I wouldn't count on it…" The girl says. The creature pushes himself out of her arms, and walks to me. Glowing tears gather and fall from their chin.

"We'll make you better, I promise…" They whisper. They crouch down and hug me again. Despite not knowing them, their embrace makes me feel so much better… Like a hug from a mother after a bad day… I wrap my arms around them and hug them tightly. It feels like a large weight has been lifted from my chest.


	29. Beauty

CHAPTER 29

BEAUTY

Zander…?

I close my eyes and breathe deeply, filling my lungs with fresh air. The delicate scent of a peachy fruit permeates the air. I fall back into the soft grass, wet with dew. My clothes become damp, and I relax in natures grasp. This world is so beautiful. I struggle to try and remember it, but my memories scurry away and gather in the back of my mind like scared rabbits. I tear up at the thought of losing my mind.

"This world is so… pretty. How could I have lost the memory of a place like this?" I ask. A lump forms in my throat. I open my eyes, and follow the dim halo of the midnight moon. Strange lanterns hang from the trees branches, filled with some sort of glowing stuff.

"We took something evil out of your head… they destroyed your memories. They got away…" The girl says. I look over at the white skinned creature, _Ori_ as they call him. He walks up to me and lies down in the dew covered vegetation.

"You knew this place well… This was Naru's home. She loved you, loved having you around…" Ori said. My eyes lock with his. A pitch black eye with a glowing pupil. Like I'm staring at the moon. His eyes share a similar beauty to this world.

"What are you? Where are we? I'm… I just have a hard time believing this is real…" I murmur, rolling onto my back. He rolls onto his back, shifting in the slippery grass.

"I'm Ori… The first creature you ever met here… you met me years ago when you first came here, to Nibel." They trail off, and begin breathing shakily. "I was alone, in a large and terrible world. My own mother dead, and others of my own kind were gone. I tried to act like it wasn't a big deal, but it was. I was hurting… I was alone… and then you were there…" He said. A pain fills my chest.

"What happened? Why was everything dead?" I ask. He sniffles, breathing deeply.

"A creature came and destroyed everything… slaughtering others of my kind. I didn't know them, but I still felt terrible… it was horrible, knowing I was the last alive… but, you were there. I didn't know you, and I'd never seen anything like you… heh, you looked kinda funny with that stuff you were wearing." He whispered, giggling. I continue staring at the moon, creating halos in the night sky. It was much bigger than the one I'm used to… I'm still curious as to where we are, for this to be happening.

"But… how is this possible? I was on Earth… where are we exactly?" I ask, looking at him.

"Nibel is an area within the Astral Plane, the theoretical plane between Earth and Heaven… Nibel lies on the 8th level of this plane. You got here by accident long ago, through the Spirit Portal." Aurora explained. I begin to feel a headache come on from the mere explanation.

"You decided to tag along with me and Sein, and you were so… enthusiastic about everything. You never gave up hope, you always trudged along without a care in the world, all to help a single creature save a world he didn't even know… but… so many things happened. So many near death experiences, so many tragedies... And then, we were split up. I thought you were dead… but something kept you alive, some force kept you safe in the sub-zero temperatures… you came back, but by that time you were already fatally wounded. Watching you die like that… it hurt so much." He said, tears welling in his eyes. I pull myself toward him and wrap my arms around him.

"Hey… it's okay. I'm here again… isn't that what matters?" I ask. He wipes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"But you don't remember anything… I don't know what to do, Zander… I don't know what we'll do. Naru is still gone, and we don't even have the other two keys. The wraiths are going to win. They're going to kill us…" He whispers. I squeeze him tighter, putting my head on his chest.

"Whatever these things are, we are going to beat them… don't worry." I say, holding him close. His body feels cool, but has warmth to it. Like chewing mint gum and breathing deeply. His skin feels exhilarating. I hold onto him, comforting him… I wish I could remember…

Angst

"Curious… they still love each other." Ada remarks, floating above the branch. We sit amongst the trees, watching the maggots cuddle each other.

"Despite remembering nothing, he still shows affection towards the spirit… Ori is a perfect candidate in the transformation, so why not take Zander as well? He can watch us turn his best friend into his biggest enemy… this will be so much fun…" I whisper.

"I will always follow you, Angst, and I will never betray you… but why are we doing this? They don't seem like they will cause a damper on our plans." Ada says, looking at me through the dark shadow that his hood is casting over his face.

"I hate them… they find love through dark times, and they shouldn't. Humans are scum, and the spirit tree _knows that_ … yet he lets the worm stay…" I growl, gripping my fist.

"Angst, you've grown desperate to separate and kill these two… they're practically inseparable. You need to let it go, we can still take this world." Ada whispers, staring back at the two.

"I'm not going to lie… I feel like these two may have the power to stop us… they have two of the Janus keys, which means two more to unlock the vault of light… If they do that, they're a step closer to killing us, and even me." I whisper, becoming angry at the thought. Ada looks at me, then back at them.

"Angst, we should go, we have everything we need. We can plan the attack back at the vault. I can only imagine their reaction to our new creation." Ada says, standing up on the narrow branch, the claws on his feet gripping the bark.

"Yes, I suppose you're right… I'm so excited, I can't wait to watch him squirm and scream." I whisper, jumping across branches. Ada smiles at me.

"Neither can I, my friend!" He yells, palming a glowing purple flame. It won't be long now… the two will suffer for what they have done… the darkness will rule once more.


	30. A Journey And a New Friend

CHAPTER 30

A JOURNEY, AND A NEW FRIEND

Lovec

I fill my lungs with cold air, gripping my sword tightly. I draw the sword back and rush forward, pushing the sword through the middle of the tree with a shout of anger. I yank it out and spin, cutting through the tree cleanly. I lift my right hand and lightly nudge the trunk, causing it to slowly fall to the ground. I lift the sword and bring it down on the stump, sitting next to it. I rub my eyes and let my head fall into my hands. I'm so sick of these wraiths… ever since Zander opened that vault, our lives have been spiraling to nothing. I hate worrying about being shanked in my sleep. I hate having to sleep with my sword in hand just so I don't have to feel scared. _I hate these monsters_... my ears twitch as a presence approaches. I rip the sword out of the stump and jump up, thrusting it into the air. I look up and see Ori against a tree with his hands up, staring at me. I sigh in relief at the sight of his face.

"Ori, don't sneak up on me like that." I mumble, laughing nervously. I walk back to the stump and sit down, pulling my knees to my chest. I let my hand go into slack, and the hilt of the sword slides from my fingers.

"Lov, I'm worried about you. You only come out here and swing at trees if you're going through… well… you know." He says, sitting next to me. He begins rubbing my hunched back, letting his fingers slide through my fur. I move my eyes upward and stare at the dim glow of the moon and its faint halo.

"Well, maybe if I didn't have to worry about those demons all the time, I wouldn't be out here." I hissed. He stopped stroking my fur for a moment, and then continued to rub my back.

"I'm scared of them too… but I try and keep my head up. They won't attack groups, so we'll be alright." He says, wrapping his arms around me. I lift my hand up and hold onto his arm.

"I'm tired of being scared, Ori… I just want to be able to sleep in peace… I just want to be able to walk around at night, not having to worry about my eyes being torn out." I whimper, closing my eyes. A lump begins to form in my throat. Wind whispers high up in the tree branches.

"You don't have to… we're all here for each other… we'll keep each other safe." He says, squeezing me tightly. I tear up and throw my arms around him, hugging him back . I suddenly remember something, and lightly push him away

"H-Hey, wait a sec… aren't you supposed to be with Zander?" I ask.

"Well… he fell asleep in Swallow's Nest. Aurora's with him." He replies, looking up at the moon.

"Well… how is he?" I ask. He looks down and blinks a few times.

"He's not doing well… he's beginning to remember things, but it's not of Nibel… I'm starting to think that we've lost him." He says, tearing up. I gently caress his wet cheek and pull him close again.

"He'll be okay, Ori… I promise." I whisper. He wraps his arms around me and rests his head on my shoulder.

"I don't want to lose him… Not like Mark… Not like him…" He whimpered, squeezing me tighter. I begin stroking the back of his head.

"Shhh… it'll be okay." I whisper. He nuzzles into my shoulder and begins sobbing. All of this has made such an impact on him. Ori only ever had to worry about boredom… and now he has to worry about death. I pull him closer and keep stroking his head and neck, quietly shushing him until he falls asleep. I grab hold of the hilt of my sword and lift it from the grass, sliding it into my sheath. I stand up, sliding my arm under his knee and holding his back, trying not to wake him. I slowly make my way towards Naru's cave, stumbling and nearly tripping on small rocks.

"You are _much_ heavier than you look, Ori…" I mumble. I pass between two trees and walk into Naru's cave, carefully setting Ori down on his small straw bed perched atop a small boulder. I turn around and see Zander sound asleep in Aurora's arms. Despite being around the same age, Aurora has been like a mother to him. I quietly approach them and slump down against the wall. I lightly set my hand on Zander's head, softly running my fingers through his ruffled hair. I look up, out the mouth of the cave. Clouds are covering the black sky, faintly lit by the bright moon behind it. Sad memories begin pouring over me. Memories of Kayd, and his smiling face. I close my eyes and try to force tears back. My chest bleeds with sadness. I lie down next to Zander, eyes pointed toward the sky outside. I slowly close my eyes, and force myself to sleep.

 _"Come on, Lovec. Stop trying to hit me, and hit me!"_ _Kayd shouts, bouncing around. I swing the wooden sword at him, and he jumps out of the way._

 _"You keep dodging me! This stupid stick is too heavy!" I shout, throwing the weapon._

 _"Come on, you can do it! You've seen how I dodge, just focus." He says, handing the sword to me. I reach out and grab it, rolling my eyes._

 _"I saw that. Alright… now hit me." He says, getting into a fighting stance. I take a deep breath and rush him, thrusting the stick at him. He bounds to the right and I spin around, clipping him in the side. He falls to the ground and goes limp. I drop the stick and cover my mouth with my hands._

 _"Kayd!" I scream, running to him. "N-No, don't be dead, please!" He opens one eye and looks around._

 _"So, how would you rate my acting?" He asks, smiling._

 _"Kayd, you idiot! I thought you died!" I yell, hitting his arm. He pushes himself up and wraps his arms around me._

 _"You did so well, Lov! You're going to be a great swords woman one day!" He exclaims, squeezing me tightly. I move my arms around him and hold him. His fluffy fur almost made it hard to breathe, but I still relax and sink into his arms._

 _"I love you so much, Lovec…" He whispers._

 _"I love you too… dad."_

I feel a hand on my shoulder. I slowly open my eyes and look up, catching sight of Aurora's face.

"Lovec? What's wrong?" She asks, sitting next to me.

"I uh… it was just a bad dream." I reply weakly, sitting myself up. I raise my arm and wipe my wet cheeks.

"Hey, so I was examining your sword and… there's something really special about it." She says, holding up the sword. In the moonlight, it shines with a dull grey color.

"Well… what do you mean?" I ask, scratching my head. Her hand begins to glow brightly, and she slides it across the blade. As her hand touches the blade, it leaves a golden trail on it. The edge of the blade begins to glow with light.

"Your sword isn't fully kharatic, it's an alloy. I can't see what the second metal is, but whatever it is it reacts with the light, becoming incredibly sharp." I reach for the blade and lightly touch the glowing edge. As my finger connects it splits my skin. I yelp at the pain, and put my finger into my mouth, sucking on the wound.

"What the… when did you figure this out?" I ask, pushing myself up. She sets the blade on the ground and allows the golden color to fade back to dull grey.

"A few minutes ago. I just… experimented with it, and it happened." She says, scratching her head.

"So… what exactly are you getting at?" I ask, tilting my head.

"Well, I think we should give your sword an upgrade." She says, smiling.

"Um… upgrade? But how, what is there to add?" I ask deadpanning at her. She picks up the blade and slides it into its sheath.

"We'll leave it to him to do, but if we're lucky he'll help us." She says, handing me the sword.

"Wha… would you mind telling me who _he_ is?" I ask, taking the sword and throwing the strap over my shoulder. She looks out the mouth of the cave, setting her sights on something. The rays of the sun are just barely beginning to pierce the horizon. I follow her eyesight to Mount Horu.

"He lives there… It's hard to explain, but he's… _special_." She said. I glance at her, then back at the mountain.

"I'm trying to figure out whether or not you're joking. Nothing lives there… I don't think…" I scratch my head, deep in thought. Could something possibly live there?

"Well something does, and we're going… We should probably take Zander as well…" She said, pushing herself off the ground. "He could really help him."

"How so?" I ask, tilting my head.

"Well… he's basically a god… I know, it sounds crazy, but you have to trust me. He knows _everything_ about _everyone_ … it's almost creepy." She remarked, staring at the mountain. I scoff and shake my head.

"A god? What are you gonna tell me next, that this is just some made up world? I'm having a hard time believing you." I mumble, crossing my arms. She purses her lips and pushes herself up.

"Hey, I'll just go without you. Your loss." She says, crossing her arms.

"What? N-No, I'll go… I just… I have a hard time believing something exists in there… I mean, if there is something in there, wouldn't Ori have seen it when he brought the light back?" I ask, pushing myself off the ground.

"He lives off the element of warmth, when it goes cold or out of control he goes into hibernation. He must not have seen him." She said, walking out of the cave. I walk over to Zander and shake him.

"Hey, wake up. We're going on a trip." I whisper, rubbing his arm. He shifts comfortably and rubs his eyes.

"Hmm? A trip? Mkay…" His head falls back down and he falls back asleep.

"Zander! Wake up, come on!" I grab his shoulders and shake him violently. He mumbles and swipes weakly at my hand. I straighten two of my fingers and jab him in the side, causing him to jolt.

"Agh, fine! I'm up!" He croaks, pushing himself off the ground. He shoots a fowl look at me and stumbles out of the cave, rubbing his eyes. I glance over at Ori, who is still sound asleep. I feel like we should take him… just in case. I walk over to him run my fingers through his fur. He lets out a small relaxed sigh and shifts slightly. I smirk and get close to his ear.

"Ori… come on, we're leaving." I whisper, kissing him on the cheek. He mumbles something incoherently and weakly opens his eyes.

"Leaving? To go where?" He asks weakly, propping himself up and rubbing his eye. I sigh and sit down with him.

"Mount Horu." I whisper. As I utter the words, his eyes widened.

"Wha- Mount… Horu...? Um, I don't think we should go there…" He said, sitting up.

"We'll be there with you. I know you don't like going there, but going there will help us in many ways… I'll protect you." I say, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a reassuring smile. He turns and looks outside, eyes locking with the mountain in the distance. His eyes begin turning wet.

"I… I don't want to go… I'm scared of that place." He whimpers, hugging his chest. I move toward him and embrace him, rubbing my cheek against his.

"I know you're scared, Ori… I am too. But you have to remember that your family will be there with you… I'll be there with you…" I whisper in his ear. He wraps his arms around me and nuzzles into my shoulder, taking in a small quivering breath.

"I have so many terrible memories of that place… I don't want to revisit them… I don't want to face my fears… I just want to stay here, with you…" He whimpers with a shaking voice. The fur on my shoulder begins wetting as tears soak into it.

"Hey, you'll be okay… I'll be there to fight your fears with you… Zander and Aurora will be there with us. We'll be alright." I say quietly, stroking the back of his head. He nods slowly and lightly pushes himself off of me, rubbing his eye.

"Okay… alright, I'll go… I trust you." He whispered, smiling at me. I slide my arm under his arms and lift him off of his bedding, helping him to the ground and out of the cave. Ori looked at the sky and sighed.

"Why are we doing this so early? Couldn't we just to this in the morning? Besides, what are we even _doing_?" Ori asked, staring at the moon.

"Well we're taking you and Zander to talk to somebody there, and Aurora is taking me there to improve my sword… which I don't know how we'll do that. But apparently, Kayd made the sword out of some special alloy." I explained, following Ori's eyes.

"Talk to someone? Who?" Ori asked, nearly stumbling on a root above ground.

"Some god or something… Aurora said he could help you and Zander." I reply, adjusting my grip around Ori. "Aurora said he knew _everything_." I added.

" _Everything_? That's not creepy or anything…" Ori sarcastically remarked, looking ahead.

"Don't worry… unless you've done something _gross_ , you'll be just fine." I replied, rubbing his head. He deadpanned and stared into nothing. "O-Ori? You _haven't_ done anything, right?" I ask.

"I don't think so… what would you count as gross?" Ori asked, looking at me. I looked forward and thought for a moment.

"Uuuuhhh… I dunno…" I reply softly. I _do_ know some things that would count as gross… but I'd rather not explain it to Ori right now. Ori left it at that and continued walking. As we passed through the Spirit Tree's meadow, a cute little spirit with blue eyes and a reddish color pattern walked up to me and smiled.

"Hi! Where are you going?" The tiny spirit asked. I looked at Ori and he gave me an encouraging smile.

"W-Were going to Mount Horu…" I reply, crouching down to their height. As I told him where we were going, his eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Mount Horu?! Can I come? _Pleeeeeeease?_ " He asked, begging with his eyes. I smirked and lifted him onto my shoulders.

"Of course you can… just keep an eye out for any creatures, alright?" I say, walking forward. The little spirit giggled as I lifted them onto my shoulders and looked around.

"Aye-Aye, Ms. Explorer lady!" The little spirit exclaimed, scanning the surroundings as we walked through the forest. I giggle at his enthusiasm and look forward.

"So what's your name, little one?" I ask, giving the spirit a small bounce on my shoulders.

"My name is Segi! What's your name?" The spirit asked, giving a playful yelp as they bounce up.

"I'm Lovec. It's nice to meet you, Segi." I reply, rubbing my cheek against Segi's right leg. He giggled as my fur rubbed against his, and softly patted my head.

"So why are you going to the big scary mountain?" Segi asked, poking the hilt of my sword.

"There's a spirit there who is going to help me with something. The start of a long journey to save something." I reply, softly pushing their hand away from the sword's hilt.

"So… like a quest? Like from the stories and stuff?" Segi asks, resting his chin on top of my head, pressing my ears down.

"I guess you could say that… a quest to save Nibel… never thought of it that way." I reply, flinching as Segi's fluffy tail slaps me in the face. I giggle and brush his tail from my face.

"Keep control of your tail, you're gonna knock one of my eyes out!" I exclaim, running my fingers through the unusually long, thick fur on his tail.

"Heh, sorry. I can't control it. It just does whatever it wants." Segi replied, grabbing hold of his tail and hugging it. It flicked and wiggled in his arms, and he let out a small giggle.

"You can't control your tail? You were born with it; how can you not be able to control it?" I ask, snickering at his attempt to control it. He squeaked as the tail hit him in the face and he let it go. The tail flicked around some more before calming down behind him.

"I dunno, it just does what it wants… but it's really fun to play with whenever it's going crazy like that!" He exclaimed, batting at his tail and causing it to flick around some more and hit me in the back.

"So… do you have any family?" I asked, looking up at Segi. His expression changed and he set his chin on top of my head, letting out a small groan.

"No… I _had_ a family, but they left me… I don't have a family anymore." He mumbled, beginning to sniffle. I instantly felt horrible… I had to cheer him up.

"W-Well… maybe you could tag along with us for a bit! You can stay with us, and we'll take good care of you!" I replied, reassuring Segi. A smile spread across his face.

"R-Really?! You'd do that?!" He squeaked, bouncing with excitement.

"Of course! I'd be glad to have you tag along with us." I replied, rubbing my cheek against his leg. He hugged my head and let out a sigh of happiness.

"Thank you!" He exclaimed, rubbing his cheek against the top of my head. I giggled as I felt his soft fur rub against my head, and I ran my fingers through his fur. Ori looked back at me and smiled… he looked happy that I had a new friend tagging along with us… but I immediately felt horrible. I was putting him in danger by taking him with us.


End file.
